The Case for Voting NO’ on the Winfield Road Referendum TAX

This an archived article from February of 2010

This fall our village is putting to a public vote a referendum for $3.3 Million in order to fix the most decrepit roads in our town. After that, we need an additional $705 Thousand Dollars per year just to maintain the remaining roads. The initial tax will show up on your property tax bill as an extra $243 charge if your house is worth $300,000. If your house is worth more, your tax bill will be proportionally more. The tax will continue until the bond is paid off in 20 years. (Daily Herald, 12-18-09)

Note: The $243.00 does not include the additional cost of  the $705 thousand dollars for the next 20 years. In reality you are looking at approximately a 200% tax increase on the Winfield side of your tax bill.

An Epic Failure of Leadership

If you have been a resident for a few years, and if you watch the newspapers, you are probably aware  Winfield has had many opportunities to develop and grow our commercial tax base, which alleviates the financial pressure put on residents in the form of property taxes. Commercial real estate creates higher land values, puts no additional pressure on our schools, and they pay higher taxes per square foot than residential real estate does. Commercial developments also have the distinct advantage, if done right, of creating sales taxes. This town’s politicians for years have actively denied growth opportunities that would create net tax revenues for our town. (Daily Herald 3-25-09) If we had taken even a few of them, we would not find ourselves in such dire straights.

Lost Annual Transaction Tax

It is impossible to truly know how much sales tax revenue Winfield has forgone. I checked with the Illinois Department of Revenue and they tell me specific numbers are confidential. I have general numbers, and they are in the millions of dollars.

Currently, our heaviest traveled corridor is Roosevelt Road. The land along Roosevelt is zoned residential. Roosevelt Road has a traffic count of 30,000 cars each day. Of all the opportunities our village has to generate revenue in order to provide services like road maintenance, there is no better opportunity than Roosevelt Road.

“Winfield has lost every opportunity to raise tax revenue without raising taxes on our people…”

An Epic Failure of Government

During the last election cycle we were assured that Winfield Village President Deborah Birutis was a financial wizard that had spent 5 years on the finance committee and all was well with the budget. Glenn VadeBonCoeur and Jack Bajor also served with her on the finance committee and still do. Jack Bajor and Joel Kunesh are long time Winfield Trustees. One has to wonder, given their financial prowess, how did they NOT see this coming? In that same election cycle we were assured the budget was balanced and there was nothing to worry about. We should all be disappointed that we have arrived at this juncture in our town’s history; out of money and worse, out of ideas that do not revolve around raising taxes on the residents of this great town. The next step for these politicians is apparently to outsource our police department. The way I see it, if you boil the village’s responsibility to the residents down to its core, the local government is responsible for delivering clean water, disposing of sewage and garbage and providing police protection. If Village President Birutis doesn’t think Winfield should provide police protection anymore, then what, really, are we paying a local government for? If disbanding the police department is really an option, then disbanding the Winfield’s Village government should be too.

Why I ask you to join me in voting NO for the Winfield Road Referendum.

Let’s be honest with ourselves, the roads need to be fixed and Winfield is in a very bad spot because of monumentally bad management. But unless we take this opportunity to set the town on a path to fiscal responsibility, you can rest assured your politicians will come back to you in a few years from now to ask for more money for something else that is lurking (or should I say lacking) in our budget. However, we must vote NO for the Winfield Road Referendum UNTIL such time as they adopt reforms such as changing the zoning on Roosevelt Road to create the possibility for future revenues and outline a plan for developing a sustainable revenue stream. If our elected officials can put together a cogent plan with vision that clearly demonstrates a path to sustainable revenue, then we should change our vote to YES. I am not looking at a complete denial of the fact the roads need to be addressed, just a pause in doing what needs to be done. A pause just long enough for our current elected officials to do the right thing, to remember they are the stewards of the entire town and they manage the resources for the benefit of all the residents. I ask you to vote NO until a clearly defined plan has been devised to never have to come back to the residents again for more tax dollars.

Questions to Ask Your Elected Officials

1. President Birutis, Trustee VadeBonCoeur, with your 5 years on the finance committee, how long did you know that Winfield was out of money?
2. Did you know we were going to have to go to referendum for the roads during the last election cycle?
3. All your campaign literature said that you had “Balanced the Budget”. Tell me, is the budget really balanced when you are robbing from the road maintenance fund to cover operating expenses?
4. If getting a “Yes” vote for this referendum required changing the zoning of land in Winfield’s control on Roosevelt Road to commercial zoning would you do it?
5. Would you support leasing the Metra Commuter lots to a private company in order to raise $1 Million dollars?
6. Why did you vote against video gambling in Winfield that would have raised $45,000 per year?
7. Why did you not support the proton treatment center and its estimated $450,000 of tax revenue in the TIF district?
8. If we had the opportunity for a major commercial development to go in on Roosevelt Rd would you support it and the millions of dollars it would make for the Village?

“…the village needs to realize that there is a correlation between having an anti-development mindset and paying increased taxes …”

Video: Winfield Village Board ‘No Plan for Generating Needed Revenues’

Click the link below to go to the story.

Winfield’s Good Old Days Near An End?

Winfield’s Infrastructure Woes

This is an archived article from February 2010

Chances are you don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the intricate system of underground pipes that bring us drinking water, carry away sewage and ensure rainstorms don’t leave us waterlogged. That is, of course, unless you’ve found your home flooded or your commute blocked by thousands of gallons of water gushing into the streets.

Winfield officials have been warned for years their system is in need of repairs, many pipes are close to 60 years old and worn down by ground water and acidic soil. Over the last five years Winfield Village President Deborah Birutis has failed to even marginally address a solution to mend Winfield’s crumbling infrastructure and miles of deteriorating roads throughout town. Now she’s in panic mode scrambling to get support from a taxed-out public for a referendum to fix the massive problems caused by her leadership mismanagement.

A few years back the village had a long cold snap with about a month and a half of below-freezing temperatures. Then, abruptly, the mercury rose and over the course of the next several months, 54 water mains broke, causing all sorts of havoc. The pipes were old. Some were ancient. And they were laid shallow without much protection. So with any radical changes in temperature, they were susceptible to breaking. The village is currently operating at about a 20 percent loss in their system of finished water out of the system through leaks and failures. How long could a business stay viable if they have a 20 percent shrinkage walking out the door?

The question that is now on everyone’s mind is: What has Village President Birutis and the village board done to stop the hemorrhaging of Winfield’s infrastructure?

The answer, absolutely nothing.

Trustee Jack Bajor has been the Public Works Committee Chairman for the past five years. Maybe Mr. Bajor can explain why over the last five years under his leadership he turned away from our screaming infrastructure needs and let the deterioration continue. It has been Mr. Bajor’s responsibility as public works chair to ensure the village’s infrastructure needs are met and the community is safeguarded. Public Works Chair Bajor talks a good game but that’s all it is, talk. Sadly, Mr. Bajor needs to be informed that ignoring these problems imperils public safety, diminishes our economic competitiveness, is penny-wise and pound-foolish, and results in tremendous missed opportunities for the village.

Winfield is near the top in DuPage County for the number of structurally deficient and functionally obsolete infrastructure. Why is Winfield in this predicament? The answer lies with Village President Birutis and her board. Ms. Birutis along with her village board blindly follow the anti-growth philosophy of Winfield United. Ms. Birutis espouse Winfield United’s self-serving and highly flawed position that Roosevelt Road should remain residential. This is a thoroughfare which is commercialized from the Lake Michigan to DeKalb and affords Winfield the best opportunity for revenue growth. The past five years of  Ms. Birutis’ economic plan has produced not one single dollar in new revenue. Revenues badly needed to repair and maintain the decaying infrastructure in town.

At the start of every year Ms. Birutis throws around the terms economic development – downtown redevelopment and this years was no different. But these are merely buzz words to try and hide the failed policies of her administration and mislead the voting public. In the last 6 years Winfield has not seen one new development, downtown or anywhere else.

How did Ms. Birutis think she was going to be able to fund the needed infrastructure improvements? Obviously she had no idea. So the village board pushed aside infrastructure initiatives, including basic maintenance and repair. If you think this is an exaggeration consider a little known fact, the village owns the fire hydrants in town, the village is responsible for their maintenance yet the village has not tested the fire hydrants in over 5 years. Hydrants must be tested on a regular basis to ensure they are capable of delivering water at a pressure and a rate of flow for public health and effective firefighting operations. If this isn’t a cause for concern, I don’t know what is?

Now throw in the board’s wasteful spending of $8 million in taxpayer’s monies earmarked for water, sewer and road improvements on projects to make themselves look good. Think $2 million for remote meters, $1.5 million for new water and sewer lines to an empty lot and $1.5 million for a new public works building. Try finding out where the remaining $3 million went, you’ll need a full scale forensic audit. While the village board boast about these projects they mean nothing if the village they are operating in has its vital organs fail on them.

What this board never understood is infrastructure spending is a crucial investment in the village’s future. Delaying infrastructure maintenance, repairs and replacement never pays off in the long run. Who can say what breach of public health and safety it might result in next time? Addressing Winfield’s infrastructure shortcomings should be of the highest priority for the community.

It is clear, maybe not to this board that getting Winfield’s infrastructure act together is critical to the town’s future. If Winfield doesn’t, it would be worse than foolish. It would be tragic.

Political Districting Mailer

I would like to thank everyone that made the mailer regarding Winfield United and “Political Districting” possible. I just received mine in the mail today. The timing is perfect because it is 2 days in advance of the village road referendum meeting that is being put on by the politicians this weekend. With a little bit of luck, it will spark some good conversations among the attendees.

For all of you who are interested in talking about “Political Districting” in Winfield there is a debate club scheduled for Wednesday, May 26th at 7:00 pm. at John’s Buffet. I would love to see anyone that is interested there both pro and con. With a little bit of luck, either Winfield United Director Jed Skillman or Winfield United President Steve J Romanelli will be there to defend Winfield United and to take a position on districting.

I plan to use the month of June to advance the groundwork necessary to get Winfield districted. That is going to take a lot of signatures and I can use all the help I can get. Please contact me at TimAllen57@gmail.com or call 630.344.9354 if you are interested in helping with the effort.

Thank you,

Tim Allen

CDH ‘welfare’ idea typical myopia

The Winfield Inn

As I hear and read about Winfield’s budget shortfall to fix our streets, I can’t help but think that developing Roosevelt Road is part of the solution.  I realize our village board is diligently working to develop our Town Center to bring in revenue and I’m very hopeful that it happens someday.  But just as a wise investment advisor tells you to diversify your portfolio, Winfield must diversify its sources of new revenue.  We can’t put all our eggs into the Town Center basket and we can’t keep hoping that more businesses will open on Geneva Road.  We have to open up the most widely traveled road in Winfield to the development community.

I’ve been thinking about the types of business that would fit in well in the Roosevelt & Winfield Roads area and what came to mind was Cantigny.  Since 2008, when Cantigny opened Les Jardins restaurant, they’ve gone from booking 5 to 8 wedding receptions per year to 65 wedding receptions per year!  When asked where they refer the wedding guests, they told me they refer them to the Lisle Hilton.  What a perfect opportunity for Winfield to offer accommodations across the street from Cantigny at The Winfield Inn.  I imagine something quaint to fit with the character of the village nestled among the trees across from Cantigny.  We could also expect these guests to patronize other Winfield businesses as well as Central DuPage Hospital visitors to take advantage of the Inn as it would be the closest accommodations to the hospital.

I believe that if done correctly with proper attention to architecture and location, the Inn will be an asset our community can be proud of.  I hope tour elected officials endeavor to find ways to capitalize on this opportunity.

CDH & Winfield’s Road Referendum

The State of Illinois seems to be scrutinizing not for profit hospitals. While this is very interesting it’s not a silver bullet for solving Winfield’s revenue issues.

See if you are with me on this. Let’s suppose that CDH’s facilities are worth 500 Million Dollars. The property taxes on that parcel of land will be worth 10 Million. The part the village receives would be 3% of that, which is $300,000. It’s better than a sharp stick in the eye but it isn’t the $705 Thousand per year we need for road maintenance and it isn’t the $3.3 Million we need for reconstructive work on the roads that are wrecked beyond compare.

If CDH’s tax exempt status were to change, it wouldn’t be without a fight from CDH and their lawyers. So you are looking at 6 to 10 years before Winfield sees a dime. In fact, if you can see exactly what CDH would be willing to budget for the lawyer expenses by looking at the above calculations. They would be able to spend $10 Million fighting per year and if they eventually lost the case they would still have broken even.

Bottom line is, it is irresponsible to put all Winfield’s revenue generating eggs in one basket. To be responsible, we need a mix of residential, commercial and sales taxes to properly fund village operations. Praying that CDH or their questionable tax status is going to solve Winfield’s revenue problems is a foolish delay in doing the heavy lifting that needs to be done to get this village fiscally solvent again.

Would Chuck?

I had a conversation with Winfield Village Trustee Chuck Martschinke last night. We shared a beer at John’s Buffet and talked about Winfield. I was very interested to talk to Chuck to see how he fit into the village board. I enjoyed the conversation very much. I think Chuck is a straight shooter and while he may have been hand picked by Deborah Birutis, I believe he does his own thinking. When Village President Deborah Birutis torpedoed the Union Pacific Railroad underpass the first time it was up for a vote, Chuck Martschinke resigned from his involvement with the village. Former Winfield Village President RudyCzech, who hasd a habit of blind cc’ing people on emails, cc’d me on Chuck’s resignation letter. I thought that his commitment to something he believed in was admirable and I think he is an admirable guy.

That being said, I think he recognizes what I am trying to accomplish by shooting down the road referendum but he made abundantly clear he disagrees. I see the crumbling infrastructure as a symptom and I see the disease as being a lack of sustainable revenues. My purpose in working to kill the road referendum is to force attention to the lack of revenues so we cure the disease, then we can work on addressing the symptom. Its like having a boat with a hole in it. Do you bail the water out as it is rushing in? Or, do you fix the hole, and then bail the water out? To fix this hole in our budget we have to address the issue of Roosevelt Road in our comprehensive plan. From what I understand, the comprehensive plan for Winfield is up for review this summer and will be in front of the planning commission. I will be at those meetings and I think any concerned citizen should make an appearance too. Unfortunately it will probably be December before the village board votes to approve the comprehensive plan, so it is probably already too late for the November election and the vote on the road referendum.

Would Chuck support changing the comprehensive plan to allow commercial development on Roosevelt Rd? I think if anyone would give it honest consideration, Chuck would.

Winfield Resident Speaks Out Against Possible Road Referendum

Tim Allen, a Winfield resident and outspoken critic of a possible $3.3 million road referendum put forth by the Village of Winfield, drew about 35 people to a presentation at John’s Buffet in Winfield April 20.

During his PowerPoint presentation, Allen—a former village plan commission member and 2009 trustee candidate—outlined his opposition to the referendum, which asks voters two questions.

The first part would ask voters to approve a bond issuance of $3.3 million to repair the most deteriorated roads in the village. A second question would ask homeowners to raise property taxes to fund $700,000 worth of road maintenance each year for the next 20 years.

Such an aggressive maintenance cycle would be a first for Winfield, said Village Manager Curt Barrett.

If both questions pass, the owner of a $300,000 home could expect a yearly tax hike of $260.

Barrett and Village President Deborah Birutis were invited to present the argument in favor of the referendum but neither attended.

Lackluster revenue from a motor fuel tax and significant increases in both material and labor for road repair have limited the village’s ability to pay to fix the village’s streets, Barrett said.

“At this point, we can’t afford a half-mile of resurfacing funded by the motor fuel tax,” Barrett said.

Allen said poor planning and a lack of sales tax revenue generated by commercial development in Winfield, particularly along the Roosevelt Road corridor, is the reason the village has been forced to ask voters to raise taxes to fund road repairs. Land along the corridor in Winfield is primarily residential, but homeowners can petition the municipality to have their land re-zoned.

“We can pass a road referendum and repair the roads but we haven’t solved the problem of not having sustainable revenues in this town,” Allen said. “Everything comes back on you and your residential taxes because we don’t have another way to make money that doesn’t include dipping into your pocket. What I’m asking you to do is say no until we fix the long-term problems of sustainable revenues for Winfield.”

While the presentation focused on the future of one of DuPage County’s smallest municipalities, it was also something of a showcase for Allen, who acknowledges that he plans to run for trustee in the future.

“I won’t deny this is putting me on a stage for a political future, but somebody’s got to do it,” he said.

Allen discussed alternative road funding options during the hour-long presentation, which turned contentious as one attendee called Allen and others who held similar viewpoints members of the Me Generation.

In addition to re-zoning and developing Roosevelt Road, Allen urged residents to consider video gambling and leasing the parking lot at the Metra station to a private operator to generate funds.

Cliff Mortenson, chairman of the village’s plan commission and a former trustee, was in attendance and spoke up several times in defense of the village.

“We’re not the only ones in this predicament,” he said.

Mortenson said it made more sense for the village to focus its commercial recruitment efforts on Winfield’s downtown area and Geneva Road as opposed to Roosevelt Road.

“Let’s concentrate on those areas that are already considered commercial,” he said.

Resident Patti Weber said she thinks certain developments on Roosevelt Road—like an inn to accommodate the guests of weddings at nearby Cantigny Park—would be very promising opportunities for the village.

Josta and James Kalasmiki sat through the presentation to learn more about the road situation in the village and possible ways to finance repairs.

“Garys Mill Road is deteriorated,” James Kalasmiki said. “It’s beautiful in West Chicago but as soon as you hit Winfield, you better slow down.”

When asked how they would vote on the referendum, both residents said they hadn’t made up their minds.

By Patricia Murphy, Triblocal.com reporter

View Article on TribLocal

Daily Herald Articles on Winfield

Two articles appeared in the Daily Herald today, the first is an article on the upcoming Road Referendum and second is a rebuttal by Stan Zegel to a recently published article by Tim Allen concerning Central DuPage Hospital’s status in Winfield. We thought you would find them interesting reading including the comment section.

Referendum opponent wants to debate Winfield officials

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=374419

CDH should contribute for roads

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=374355

CDH and the Seven Stages of Grief

http://winfield411.com/blog/?p=971