Harvard city officials look to residential roads following sales tax approval

On its second go-round, it appears Harvard voters on Tuesday approved a 1% local sales tax increase by just 69 votes, 255 to 186.

While late-arriving mail-in ballots and provisional ballots are not included in totals provided by the McHenry County Clerk’s Office, Harvard Mayor Mike Kelly said he did not believe additional votes would change the outcome.

An identical measure failed during the June primaries with 229 “yes” votes to 412 “no” votes.

This time, Kelly said, a community committee worked to educate voters on how the increase would be used, and that the city has taken a new stance on road maintenance and repair.

“We are going in a different direction in taking care of the roads – that may have helped,” City Administrator Lou Leone said.

Harvard’s council approved a change earlier this year on how it addresses residential street projects. Instead of using its Motor Fuel Tax dispersement from the state to resurface roads each year, $120,000 of it will go to “preserving the roads that have been done in the last five years,” Leone said.

The remaining $100,000 will go towards preventing further deterioration of residential roads.

Harvard hopes to begin collecting the new tax on July 1. The council must first pass an ordinance at its April 25 meeting and forward that on to the Illinois Department of Revenue by May 1. The clerk’s office must also certify the voting results by that date, Leone said.

If done by that deadline, Harvard businesses should start collecting that revenue on July 1, with the first dispersal to the city in October, Leone said. If any deadlines are missed, the next chance to start collecting the tax is October 1.

It takes time to get the wheels in motion to collect the additional tax, Leone said. “The Department of Revenue needs to notify businesses that collect taxes on when the start date will be.”

Residents will see a significant impact on their streets over the next several years.

—  Harvard Mayor Mike Kelly

Harvard expects to collect about $900,000 each year from the new tax, with all proceeds going to residential roads. Residents should start seeing those projects during the 2024 construction season.

“We will set projects based on what we have received at that point,” Leone said.

Once the additional funds arrive, Harvard will work with consultants to determine which roads can be fixed and at what cost – either from curb to curb or new blacktop on larger stretches of roadway, Leone said.

“Residents will see a significant impact on their streets over the next several years” as the city works to improve it streets, Kelly said.

According to a pavement study unveiled in August, Harvard’s streets have an average score of just 38, on a scale of zero to 100. “We are trying to get above 60″ as an average, Kelly said.

They have heard residents say already they are willing to drive to Wisconsin to avoid paying the local tax, which applies to fuel and prepared foods, Kelly said.

By state statute, the additional tax is added to “all goods and services and excludes medicine, groceries and vehicles,” Kelly said.

Non-residents who shop or work in Harvard pay it too, Kelly said. “Non-residents ... help contribute to pay to fix our roads, versus the property tax where it is only Harvard property owners.”