All but one of 24 streetlights operated by rural Wesley Township remain off, for lack of money to pay the electric bill.
And Wesley this year used nearly one-fourth of about $55,000 in property taxes to pay off a loan taken out last year to cover operating costs, in part because voters twice rejected tax-increase referendum proposals.
Those financial woes prompted Township Supervisor Jack Rossi to recently make an unusual request of the Will County Forest Preserve Commission: Stop buying land in Wesley.
The plea set off a debate between rural and suburban government officials in Will, where the population is projected to swell to 1.1 million in 2030 from about 643,000 now.
Some rural officials, including Rossi, believe development will bring sounder government finances, while representatives of areas where fields are sprouting buildings at one of the fastest rates in the nation see dwindling opportunities to preserve open land.
“If we wait for them to start building up, we won’t be able to afford to buy anything,” said commission President Kerry Sheridan, who represents District 6, which includes Wesley.
Brook McDonald, president and chief executive officer of the Conservation Foundation, said he shared that view.
“I think everybody understands now that although development generates revenue, it also generates costs” to maintain infrastructure and provide services, including education, he said. “And the costs are greater than the revenue.
“Open space is the ultimate tax cap, and all the research shows that.”
Rossi disagreed, and his argument, at least in the short term, won over some key commissioners. The Land Use Committee recently voted 5-4 to reject a $1.2million purchase of 136acres in Wesley. Rossi opposed the deal, which would extend the Forked Creek Greenway and potentially provide public access to it.
After shooting down the purchase, commissioners suspended for 30 days negotiations for land buys in Wesley, where district plans call for buying 566 more acres–too much from Rossi’s perspective.
“We are hurting out here,” he said. His government, which serves fewer than 2,570 residents in far southwest Will, runs a lean operation, he said.
Unlike many townships, Wesley does not run programs for senior citizens or youth, or offer retirement or health benefits to its officials. “There are no frills in this outfit,” he said.
If the district bought more Wesley land, it would come off the tax rolls, leading to increases in property tax bills for remaining taxpayers. Commissioner Don Gould, a District 6 representative who sits on the Land Use Committee, championed Rossi’s position. Gould’s efforts derailed the 136-acre buy.
“Usually, they’re saying, `Please buy it,'” Gould said of local officials weighing in on proposed commission land buys. “The situation is unique. … They have serious budgeting problems. I’m sensitive to that.”
Sheridan doesn’t sit on the committee so he didn’t vote on the 136 acres. Neither did Debbie Rozak, the third District 6 commissioner.
“People live here because they like the open space,” she said, adding that the resulting increase in individual property tax bills if the 136acres were purchased amounts to pennies. “I think that’s a small investment in our future.”
District calculations show that township taxes on the 136acres total about $80, an amount that would be split among remaining taxpayers if the land were purchased.
The Wesley land-buying effort is part of plans to acquire more than 3,000 acres throughout the county. Will voters in April 2005 approved the issuance of $95 million in bonds.
Rossi said his township has its fair share of open land. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources owns 741 acres in Wesley, and the Forest Preserve District owns 612, said Laurie McPhillips, the county’s recorder of deeds.
“There’s just too much in one spot,” Rossi said.
Before commissioners again discuss Wesley on Aug. 8, key players will meet. One idea being discussed is to compensate townships for lost tax revenue.
———-
hdardick@tribune.com
