Clarendon Hills to host final informational meeting on home rule

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Updated: March 10, 2012 8:14AM

The final of three informational meetings about a March 20 referendum in Clarendon Hills, seeking home-rule authority, is scheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 15 at Prospect School, 100 N. Prospect Ave.

The meeting is being conducted by the Village Board, which had two previous such meeting.

“This meeting may be a little different; we’re lining up an additional speaker who has had experience with home-rule issues in other communities,” Village Manager Randy Recklaus said.

Recklaus said he expects a mix of people at the Feb. 15 meeting, split between those who have attended a previous informational session and those who will be attending their first.

“We’ll tailor the presentation to some of the feedback and questions we’ve had from people,” he said. “Some people have questions about the long-term impact of home rule, and some are a little apprehensive about what it will mean for them. Really, what we want is for people to be as educated as possible about this when they go to vote.”

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 home rule.

Village officials estimate that a proposed new capital improvements tax they likely would institute with home-rule 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 existing 1 percent local sales tax for restaurants.