Will County Forest District board OKs disputed $50 million bond plan

The Forest Preserve District of Will County board voted 16-2 for a bond plan with the only no votes from two commissioners who stirred an online campaign to reject the proposal.

The plan could lead to an $11 tax charge for an average Will County homeowner next year or none at all depending on when the district issues the bonds. No timetable has been set.

Even if all $50 million bonds were issued this year, the forest preserve tax bill on a $300,000 house would drop by nearly $21 because previous bonds are being paid off, according to the forest preserve district.

The average forest preserve tax bill is now is nearly $117 house and will drop to less than $96 even with the bond plan. It would have dropped to nearly $84 without the bond plan, according to the district.

But a social media campaign started by one commissioner stirred a few hundred emailed comments from Will County taxpayers, many of whom said they want to see no tax increase whatever, that were read at forest preserve meetings before the vote on Thursday.

Illinois property taxes are among the highest in the nation, a fact cited by many of the people who emailed opposition to the forest preserve bond plan.

“Any increase is too much,” one taxpayer said in an email. “I want to see some tax relief.”

The Forest Preserve District received several emails from taxpayers who said their property taxes this year increased by $1,000.

The Forest Preserve District accounts for less than 2% of an average Will County tax bill, a statistic mentioned by several commissioners questioning why the bond plan became a battleground for the taxpayer’s plight.

“I’m not questioning the fact that property taxes are out of control,” Commissioner Jim Richmond, R-Mokena, said.

But Richmond said a taxpayer uprising should focus on the other local governments, particularly school districts, that make up the other 98.5% of a property tax bill.

The Forest Preserve District bond plan was the focus of attention largely because Commissioner Mark Revis, R-Plainfield, decided to make it so.

Revis conducted a social media campaign urging taxpayers in his district to voice their opinion about the bond plan, which he characterized as a tax increase.

“It seems pretty clear to me that they want us to go as low as we can on their property taxes,” Revis said at the Tuesday meeting. “They don’t want us to add any more obligation to their tax bills, and that’s what this is.”

Revis was joined by Commissioner Raquel Mitchell, R-Bolingbrook. They commissioned a poll showing 95% of local voters were looking for local candidates willing to address the property tax problems that they face.

“We’re adding on,” Mitchell said of the bond plan, adding that taxing districts typically describe their increases as small additions to the tax bill. “Each board says it’s just a dollar more. It’s just 50 cents more. It’s a latte. It’s a cup of coffee. Everybody says that when they want to raise our tax bills.”

Other commissioners pointed to widespread use of the forest preserves, saying they enjoy public support that justified the bonds.

“I see thousands of people at our forest preserves and our parks over the course of a week,” said Julie Berkowicz, R-Naperville. “People appreciate our open spaces.”

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