Village Asks Voters For $10 Million In Glencoe Bond Referendum

GLENCOE, IL — A $10 million referendum question is before voters in Glencoe on the April 6 ballot. If approved, village staff would be authorized to issue general obligation bonds to fund three years of infrastructure improvements, including to stormwater management, sanitary sewers, streets and sidewalks.

Village staff estimate the bond issue would add an additional $90 per each $10,000 of property taxes paid if approved. Because the village is not a Home Rule community, officials need residents to sign off in the voter's booth.

Next month's referendum question is the village's first in six years. According to village officials, the proceeds from the new bond would be allocated from 2022 to 2024. The debt would be paid back over the course of the next 20 years.

The largest allocation of planned spending is $4.1 million in improvements to storm sewers to reduce recurring flooding, according to a breakdown of the infrastructure projects.

Village staff identified four areas that have already been studied by engineering consultants for upgrades: a 52-acre drainage basin on the south end of Green Bay Road, the 146-acre South/Washington avenues drainage basin northeast of the Skokie Country Club, the 39-acre area that drains storm water from Green Bay Road to Sunset Lane and a plan to replace a deteriorated storm sewer outfall at the Longwood Avenue ravine.

The next largest chunk of spending is the $3.9 million of planned spending on street resurfacing and lighting.

Residential streets that have not been paved since 2008 will be the primary target, but roads where the village has completed major water or utility work in the past decade may also be marked for resurfacing.

Another $1.2 million will go to improvements to sanitary sewers, including an ongoing review of requirements by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District aimed at reducing the chance of sewer overflows and basement backups during major storms.

Most of the improvements will take place in a "large identified priority area in central Glencoe," according to a description from village staff.

The remaining $800,000 in proceeds from the proposed bond issue would be set aside for an ongoing program that replaces sidewalks in residential areas and installs new sidewalks or pedestrian safety improvements in places where there are none.

Approval of the referendum would increase the village's outstanding general obligation debt by more than 50 percent to nearly $30 million, which is less than a third of the debt limit established by the Village Council. Annual debt payments would rise to about $2.6 million for the next five year but remain below the village's historic peak in 2008, according to staff.

The village's 10-year capital plan includes additional revenue from future bond issues. According to a summary of funding for the plan: $5 million in general obligation bonds would be issued in 2024 and again in 2027, while alternate revenue bonds linked to the water fund would be issued to bring in $3.5 million in 2022, $10 million in 2025 and $5 million in 2028.

Glencoe's AAA credit rating has kept its borrowing costs low. Last year, refinancing existing bonds saved taxpayers more than $400,000, according to village staff.

The referendum must be approved by a majority of votes cast. The question before voters on April 6 will be:

Shall the Village of Glencoe, Cook County, Illinois, undertake storm sewer improvements, sanitary sewer upgrades, street resurfacing and lighting, and sidewalk installation and replacement, all on property owned by the Village or over which the Village has sufficient easements, and issue its general obligation bonds to the amount of $10,000,000 for the purpose of paying the costs thereof, said bonds bearing interest at not to exceed the rate of 6.00% per annum?