Supervisor of Milton Township Chris Heidorn is not only opposed to a township property tax freeze, he believes the road districts offer Illinois taxpayers the greatest bang for their buck in government.
“I believe that townships are justified in opposing a property tax freeze,” Heidorn told the DuPage Policy Journal. “I truly believe that townships are the greatest value in terms of local government that we have in Illinois. Unfortunately, many people make the erroneous assumption that by the mere number of governments alone we must assume that eliminating some will result in tax savings.”
In its current, House-amended form, Senate Bill 851 would establish a two-year property tax freeze for Cook, Lake, McHenry, Kane, DuPage and Will counties. The measure would allow those counties to increase property taxes only with voter approval.
All other counties would be subject to referendums asking whether a property tax freeze should be imposed for 2018 and 2019 or that all governments within a county jurisdiction be subject to a property tax freeze over that period and to the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law for levy year 2020 and the foreseeable future.
“I believe that we absolutely need township government,” Heidorn said. “For state-mandated programs alone, namely general assistance, highway maintenance and tax assessment, no one can do a better and more cost-effective job than townships.
"In Milton, we have a mosquito abatement district and a special police district (two more 'local governments'), both authorized by referenda, that serve specific areas of the township and only residents of those specific areas pay taxes to those districts,” he said.
Township Officials of Illinois Executive Director Bryan E. Smith sent out a legislative alert Nov. 1 to township officials informing them of a House Revenue Committee hearing scheduled on SB 851. A full House and Senate vote on the matter could follow soon.
“Legislators should begin their inquiry by learning something about townships,” Heidorn said. “It is truly remarkable how little many of them know about the very townships that serve them.
"They should address the 800-pound gorilla in the room and stop swatting at flies to produce sound bites and election slogans,” he said.
As for voters, Heidorn said they too have work to do.
“Voters should take note because the services provided by townships affect each of them in their daily lives and the lives of those in their communities,” he said. “If their ability to increase taxes is curtailed, it will eventually limit townships in providing services at their current levels.”
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