Clarendon Hills Village Board considers super majority for tax hikes

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Updated: March 11, 2012 8:08AM

The Clarendon Hills Village Board is likely to adopt an ordinance at its Feb. 21 meeting that will require near-unanimous approval to increase property taxes if voters support a March 20 referendum seeking home rule.

The board approved first consideration of the ordinance Monday, with plans to change some of the language in it before Feb. 21.

“We want the ordinance to better reflect what our intent is,” Village President Tom Karaba said. “We want five out of six trustees voting in favor of any property tax increase in order for it to be adopted. We need to make the language in the ordinance clear on that before we do anything with it.”

As village president, Karaba only votes with the board to break tie votes or if there is not a quorum without his vote.

“We have talked about requiring more than a simple majority vote to pass any property tax increases that might come about with home rule,” Karaba said. “Several other towns have passed ordinances like this before their referendum is voted on. This is a good way for us to assure our citizens that we are serious about this.”

If voters approve the referendum seeking home-rule status, the Illinois property tax cap will no longer apply to the Clarendon Hills, said Village Manager Randy Recklaus.

“This ordinance reflects the village’s long history of fiscal restraint and would only enable a property tax increase if a substantial consensus had been reached among the corporate authorities of the village,” Recklaus said.

Karaba said the current Village Board has no authority to make the ordinance regarding home-rule property tax increases binding to future boards.

“A future board could change this, but that is something they would have to do during public meetings,” he said. “It would be up to residents to follow what’s going on and speak out against that change if they didn’t want it.”

The Village Board is seeking home-rule authority as a way to maintain funding for the village’s infrastructure program, while also ensuring the long-term financial viability of Clarendon Hills, Recklaus said.

Home rule grants municipalities additional flexibility to solve local problems, including flexibility with fees, taxes and procedural issues, he said. Because Clarendon Hills has a population of less than 25,000, it needs voter approval in a referendum to become a home-rule community.

Village officials estimate that a proposed new capital improvements tax they likely would institute with home-rue authority would mean an increase of $253 annually for the owner of a $500,000 home. That tax would replace the current Special Services Area program for which residents in some areas of the village have had increased property taxes to pay for road improvements.

The Village Board also has said it is interested in pursuing a new 1 percentage point sales tax increase, while at the same time eliminating the current 1 percent additional sales tax for restaurants.

Only simple-majority board approval would be needed for any increased sales tax.