Arlington Heights residents have until Thursday to tell village officials where they stand on a more extensive yard-waste pickup service that probably would be paid for with higher property taxes.
If the service is left as is, the cost of the village’s pay-by-the-bag system is likely to run about the same as last year, officials said: $78,846. A change could drive up property tax bills as much as 6.3 percent, depending on the option chosen.
In the current system residents buy village yard-waste stickers for $1.35 apiece. The stickers go on the yard-waste bags, which are put on the curb for the regular weekly waste pickup. Every bag must have a sticker, or it won’t be picked up.
When discussing the proposed fiscal 2001 budget, some trustees have said the leaf pickup process is too cumbersome and expensive and want to explore options.
Residents can give their opinions on the village’s comment line, 847-368-5140. The four proposals are:
– The program stays the way it is.
– The village starts its own weekly curbside leaf collection service. Residents would no longer have to bag yard waste, but would simply rake, blow or dump it at the curb. The village would have to hire 8 to 10 new public works employees and buy pickup equipment, which could increase property taxes by 6.3 percent the first year and 5.7 percent the second and subsequent years for the foreseeable future.
– The village’s waste contractor picks up bagged leaves, and Arlington Heights taxpayers pick up the tab, estimated at $720,000. Each single-family residence would get 25 specially marked bags and pay an unspecified amount for each additional bag. This option would require a 4.6 percent property-tax increase.
– The waste contractor provides unlimited collection of bagged leaves and no longer requires a yard-waste sticker on every bag. Instead, it would charge the village a flat fee, estimated at $604,800. Residents would be faced with either a 3.9 percent property tax increase or an additional $2.80 charge on their monthly waste-hauling bill.
Village officials say a tax increase would hit all taxpayers, including businesses and residents of multifamily buildings that wouldn’t benefit from a yard-waste collection service.
Public Works Director Scott Shirley said trustees should proceed with caution.
“This could be where we get most of our compliments, or it could be the source of just about all our criticism,” Shirley said.
Trustees are scheduled to discuss the issue Monday at the last public hearing on the proposed 2001 budget.
