Village of Bolingbrook “Garbage Tax” – The Truth

In an article published in the Patch on November 20, 2020 by Jackie Traynere, current Will County Board member, it was noted that 4,300 residents signed a petition to put an Advisory Referendum on the ballot. The question on the petition was worded as “Shall the Village of Bolingbrook rescind the approximately 40% tax increase for fees to collect garbage?”

Unfortunately for those who were given the petition to sign, the question misrepresented the actual situation. Two key points mentioned in the question on the petition include rescinding the tax increase, and that there was an increase of 40%. Neither is true.

Per the claim of a 40% tax increase, the cost (vendor fee for services) is not a tax. Secondly, the cost has not changed anywhere near 40% in the last few years. In reality, the fee to the Village in 2017 was $19.40 per household, per month and is $20.59 per household in 2020, a 2% annual increase, not a 40% increase. The bottom line is that Refuse Collection is a Utility service and fee to residents, the same as Electric, Gas, Internet, Phone, or Water. To describe it any other way is untrue.

Therefore, the wording of the question on the petition is both misleading and an inaccurate representation of the actual situation. Even more unfortunate is the fact that the residents, including Ms. Traynere, were provided accurate information from the Village Administration and she chose not to use the accurate information. The Village made this information available to all residents on the Village website, www.bolingbrook.com, where it can viewed by clicking on Departments > Public Services > Refuse Collection and selecting Refuse Collection FAQ.

With that said, a bit of history. The past Administrations of Bolingbrook chose to place the cost of the service on the Property Tax bill when most of the homes were of similar value. That practice was not uncommon in suburban Chicago. Over time, most communities moved to a fee billed directly to each residence, either by the Town or by the Waste Hauling firm. From our research, we believe that only Niles, Illinois places the Refuse Collection cost on the Property Tax bill. It could be argued that Bolingbrook should have gone to direct billing years ago, but, that’s in the past.

For many years, the Property Tax Bill included funding for Police and Fire Pensions, Village Debt, and Refuse Collection. Due to increasing costs of Police and Fire Pensions, implemented by the Illinois State Legislature, the Property Tax bill was changed in Fiscal Year 2017 to fund just Police and Fire Pensions and Village Debt, by a unanimous vote of the Village Board. The Village paid the cost of Refuse Collection in Fiscal Year 2018 and began direct billing to the residents in Fiscal Year 2019.

Why was the decision made to move the Refuse Collection cost off the Property Tax bill? Bolingbrook has grown over the years with a wide range of housing stock and values, starting around $100,000. As such, the Property Tax rate is applied to the entire Village based upon Equalized Assessed Value. A property of average value (approximately $300,000) is assessed at a higher cost than the lowest one, resulting in unequal cost to the homeowners. The Property Tax cost for higher end homes would be at least three times higher. The quarterly fee, which is now billed to residents, is the same for all residences. The bottom line is that the Property Tax bill is probably the number one issue to Village residents. Putting Refuse Collection back on the Property Tax bill is not only unequal and unfair to residents, the cost for all residents would go up by a double digit percentage.

The Village Administration has worked hard over several years to reduce the Property Tax rate by finding other revenue sources, including implementation of a Local Sales Tax which is paid by residents and area visitors to our Retail Stores and Restaurants. In 1986, the Village budget relied on 39% of its funding from Property Tax. In 2019-2020, it relied on 12% from Property Tax. More detail can be found on the Village website by clicking on Government, State of the Village, and State of the Village 2020 Handout.

To put this all in perspective, there needs to be some more detail regarding actions taken over the years regarding garbage collection for residents. The Village has maintained a contract with their Residential Refuse Collection firm for many years. The contract was modified to include Curbside Recycling and Yard Waste pickup. Most communities contract out this service rather than absorb the cost of labor, vehicle purchase and maintenance, as well as other costs. Villages or Cities enter into a contract on behalf of their residents to bring about the lowest cost possible and each community offers different options; some charge for Yard Waste pickup or restrict curbside services.

In light of the complexity and cost of these services and the fact that the current contract is up in 2022, Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta and the Village Board approved the formation of a Solid Waste Ad Hoc Committee. The Committee will be co-chaired by Village Trustees Mike Lawler and Bob Jaskiewicz and will include 8-10 residents. The initial goals are to understand the various programs offered by surrounding and similar communities, develop program options for Bolingbrook to be included in a Request for Proposal (RFP), and ensure the RFP is accurate before being released for bid. The committee discussions should include a toter or cart option and direct resident billing.

At the November 17, 2020 Village Board Meeting, Mayor Basta reiterated that it is important that information about these issues is accurate, that accurate information can be obtained from the Village of Bolingbrook, and that anyone misrepresenting the facts, especially after being provided accurate information, should not be misleading the residents.