Elmwood Park Appoints Two Trustees, Sets Levy for 2013

Elmwood Park Wednesday night welcomed two new board members and learned what their property tax rates will be in 2013.

After a tumultuous year that included the high drama of opposing Walmart, recalling the village president and two trustees resigning, the board meeting was definitely low-key by comparison.

Cindy Towery-White will serve out the remainder of Dave Cattoi's term to April 2013. He resigned during the October board meeting.

Towery-White's appointment was approved unaninmously.

As for why she stepped forward, she said she wants the village to be successful and to use her accounting background in the process.

"Sustaining the budget is probably the most important thing," Towery-White said. "We've lived here for about 3-1/2 years and it's a nice little village. I can put my experience to work helping us stay in the black."

Nick Haas was appointed to fill Linda Kawa-Pelish's seat, which is up for re-election in April 2014. She resigned earlier this month.

Haas' appointment was approved with a 5-1 vote. Trustee Dave Voss was the only dissenting vote.

Haas told Patch he was happy to step forward because he believes in keeping taxes low and looks forward to addressing the corner where the old Kohl's still stands.

"We need to actively market the area, be an advocate for our village and look at partnering with local groups looking for a home like the Wild Root Market maybe," he said.

2013 Budget

Outgoing Clerk/Treasurer Veronica Rudychev - she also resigned earlier this month - presented the 2013 budget to the board and residents.

The total budget is increasing about 3 percent, she said, from $336,781 to $345,578. Total tax levy comes to $243,080, up from $201,152 the previous year.

Using a state formula that allows communities to raise taxes based on percentage of debt service, Rudychev was able to propose the increase to help the village stay in the black.

"Rent income last year was a little inflated so I took those down a bit, but I increased revenues from pet licenses and building permits to make a more balanced budget," she explained.

Homeowners will pay $5.47 per $1,000 in assessed value, a 94-cent increase over the $4.53 rate they paid last year. Rudychev calculated that a home assessed at $185,000 will pay an additional $174, and a home worth $230,000 will $216 more this year over last.

Village President Tom Mills said he was actively searching for Rudychev's replacement and had at least a couple of letters of interest from potential candidates, one of which was referred by Rudychev.