Some homeowners in the special taxing district thought they faced a much larger increase. In the end, they'll pay a total of $100 a year.
By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
Published June 13, 2003
The cost of living in Bloomingdale, the county's largest special taxing district, will get more expensive come October.
But the increase isn't nearly as steep as some residents initially feared.
The board of trustees for the Bloomingdale Special Taxing District voted Monday to raise the annual tax from $80 to $100, the first increase since the tax was established nearly 20 years ago.
Trustees said the change is long overdue, considering how many entryways, sprinklers and perimeter walls are now in Bloomingdale - where there are some 4,600 homes, and new ones still being built.
The Bloomingdale district has grown significantly since the special taxing district was created in 1985. It covers 40 neighborhoods, and includes every home in Bloomingdale East and West, except for River Crossing Estates in Bloomingdale East.
Trustees want to renovate seven of Bloomingdale's eight major entryways, and they plan to install more shade trees and canopies, park benches, trash receptacles and bicycle racks.
The additional $20 from each home will raise the taxing district's annual budget for community maintenance and improvements..
Monday's vote came after 90 minutes of tense, angry comments from about five dozen residents, who calmed down only after the trustees assured them they would be paying just $100 a year to the taxing district.
Residents came to the meeting thinking they would have to pay $200 a year to the taxing district, thanks to a certified letter they received from the trustees. The letter, required by the county, said there would be a $100 assessment for the 2003 budget year beginning in October.
The last paragraph warned residents that the county can put a lien on the home of any owner who fails to pay.
The letter did not clearly explain that this was the $100 tax residents endorsed in a September referendum. In that election, 62 percent of the 2,477 participating voters said yes to the $20 increase.
All but a few of the residents at Monday's meeting said they still support it, but they remain angry at the county.
"If the county had just worded that form letter a little differently, I wouldn't have to fix my roof because of the hole I blew through it," Jim Robinson said.
Resident Joe Liguori, who volunteers in the taxing district's office, said some residents mistakenly sent in $100 checks.
Most residents weren't so generous. Dozens sent angry e-mails to the taxing district.
"And we must have gotten 100 phone calls," Liguori said, shaking his head.
The letter was what prompted so many residents to fill the meeting room Monday. Usually, the chairs are empty when the trustees meet on the second Monday of each month.
"I wish every meeting were this full," said taxing district president Thom Snelling. "I think the good thing that came of all this was, I found some potential board members for the future."
