Village, Road District Announce Plan To Transfer Stewardship

HOMER GLEN, IL — The village of Homer Glen and the Homer Township Road District have announced a plan to transfer stewardship of the road district over to the village. The road district is currently under the stewardship of Homer Township.

According to the village website, the village contracts with the road district for road maintenance and snow plowing. The village of Homer Glen first entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the Homer Township Road District in 2002.

"This relationship was mutually beneficial, as the [road district] was in existence at the time of incorporation and stood ready to assist the young village," a release from both the village and the road district states.

Now, as the village has grown, it is looking to "control its own destiny and protect its residents and property owners well into the future."

According to the release, the village is willing to maintain the 18 miles of unincorporated roads at no cost to unincorporated residents, in perpetuity or until a time when these areas are annexed into the village.

"This is a transfer of stewardship because the residents of Homer Glen should not have to pay for something that they already own," the release states.

Homer Township residents who reside in the city of Lockport will no longer pay taxes to the road district for roads which are maintained by the city of Lockport. Those residents may also need to be compensated for their past investment, the release states.

The village and road district said it also met with the Homer Township Supervisor to share this plan.

"We will continue to reach out and engage with the township and all other parties in a collaborative way," the release states.

The village and road district said this is the first of many communications and the transfer of stewardship will be an open and transparent process.

Patch has reached out to Homer Township for a comment.