Wilmette officials have approved a home rule sales tax hike that will see local rates rise as the village attempts to shore up funds to make needed repairs to streets and alleys.
With the Wilmette Village Board voting unanimously last month to raise the home rule sales tax rate from .25 percent to 1 percent effective Jan. 1, 2015, officials said it still remains a small portion of the overall sales tax rate of 9 percent, which distributes 6.25 percent for the state of Illinois, .75 percent for Cook County, and 1 percent for the RTA.
Officials said the village has been struggling to recoup Wilmette’s estimated $15 million in lost revenues due to the 2008 recession.
Village Manager Timothy Frenzer said despite the village’s home rule status allowing officials to raise the village’s portion of the local sales tax last month, the choice to do so remained a tough one.
“Since the onset of the great recession of 2008, we have been focused on providing critical public needs and have worked very hard with bringing our operating costs back in line,” Frenzer said. “But what has suffered is investing in our infrastructure.”
Frenzer said because of a sharp decline in revenues over the past seven years, officials have been forced to postpone making needed improvements to local streets and alleys, as well as put off retiring three aging ambulances that fire department officials said need to be replaced.
Frenzer said Wilmette’s home rule sales tax increase brings the rate in line with communities including Evanston, Highland Park and Park Ridge, all of which have a 1 percent home rule sales tax rate, but above neighboring Winnetka, which does not impose a home rule sales tax on purchases.
The sales tax rate increase in Wilmette, which does not tax groceries, automobiles or prescription drugs, is expected to generate an additional $1.5 million in revenues for the village’s general fund, he said.
Trustee Carol Ducommun said the village’s home rule sales tax increase is needed to pay for roughly $17 million in capital improvement projects in the next few years.
“This additional sales tax is very impactful in getting our roads back to what people in the community expected when they moved here,” Ducommun said.
“I don’t like it, but it’s the right thing to do to keep our infrastructure vibrant,” added Trustee Cameron Krueger.
Trustee Mike Basil also reluctantly supported the recent decision to raise the village’s portion of the local sales tax, but he said he was concerned Wilmette would continue to experience budget shortfalls if state mandated public pension costs are not reined in.
“So much of our budget is out of our control, and out of control,” Basil said.
