Tax May Be 'Hard Sell' In Western Springs

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL – Western Springs is considering a stormwater fee for property taxpayers, which one official said may be a "hard sell."

The Village Board discussed the issue at its meeting Monday.

Other suburbs have already imposed the fee, with Elmhurst now considering one.

The fees usually are charged based on the amount of impervious surface on a property. Such surfaces are often blamed for flooding.

Trustee James Tyrrell said he was for the fee, noting the flooding in the Ridgewood and Springdale neighborhoods.

"But this may be a hard sell across the village, especially for people who have never had flooding," he said. "Older people in ranch houses, we're asking them for $500 or $600 a year. That's something we have to look into – to distribute that equitably."

Village President Alice Gallagher said she liked the fee because it was fair to charge more to owners of properties causing more flooding.

Tyrrell said many area "McMansions" are full of impervious surfaces.

Matthew Supert, the village's municipal services director, said the village has a long list of projects.

"It's going to take a long time – at least a decade, if not more," he said. "We're reactive right now. That's at no fault of us. It's just the funding source. We do not have one to fund (operations and maintenance) on a consistent basis."

Village officials said they planned to update residents on efforts toward a stormwater fee.

They are pointing to the video of Tuesday's board meeting, where they said residents could get more information.

For much of that meeting, a stormwater consultant spoke. But she could be barely heard on the video. Her mic appeared not be on.