Election Results: Downers Grove Residents Make It Clear They Prefer a Stormwater Utility Fee to Pay for $3.9-Million System

The numbers are in: after days of polling, Downers Grove residents have decided that a stormwater utility fee should be implemented to pay for the village’s $3.9 million stormwater management system.

With all 63 precincts’ votes counted, residents decided — by a slim, 200-vote margin — to attribute stormwater management funding to a utility fee. Other options were funding the program through property taxes or through a combined property tax and stormwater utility fee.

A total 30,876 voters moved in favor of solely the stormwater utility fee, while 16,566 were against it, according to Chicago Tribune numbers. Just 14,008 voters wanted to combine property taxes and a utility fee, and 14,318 showed their preference for paying for the system through property taxes alone.

It’s important to note that this was a referendum seeking resident input, not a concrete decision. In November or December, the Village Council plans to make a final decision about how the Downers Grove community will pay the $3.9 million to continue to own and operate its stormwater management.

So, what does this mean for individual residents? The Village of Downers Grove provides an interactive online map that shows what any given property in the village would pay for stormwater management in 2017 if it were being paid for through a fee versus a property tax levy.

A stormwater utility fee would use less revenue from residential properties and take a good chunk of money from businesses. In the case of a property tax levy, businesses would pay significantly less, but residents would pay significantly more.

If you’re interested in learning more about stormwater management, Downers Grove has dedicated an entire siteto explaining its importance, uses and implications. We also broke down some of the most important points of the village’s plan, including how fees are determined based on the characteristics of your land and what the village has planned long-term for the next decade.

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