Voters to decide Nov. 5 on 35-cent tax hike for DuPage County Forest Preserve District
The DuPage County Forest Preserve District Board will ask voters for a 35-cent property tax increase on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
The board voted unanimously July 16 to put the question on the ballot. If it is approved, the owner of a $1 million home would pay an additional $117 a year in taxes to the forest district. The rate increase would generate an additional $17 million a year in revenue.
The last time voters were asked to pay more was in a 2006 referendum, noted Karie Friling, the forest district’s executive director.
“A lot has changed with the district since that time,” Friling said.
The biggest change is the number of annual visitors to the district’s 60 forest preserves (26,000 acres) and seven educational centers. That number was 3 million in 2006.
“Then Covid — the pandemic — hit,” Friling said. “We did stay open during Covid. We made sure we had a place for our residents to go and visit during the pandemic. What we saw was those numbers go up to 6.2 million.”
Since the pandemic, the number of visitors has leveled off to about 5.5 million a year.
The district has added 639 acres of land and 30 miles of trials along with restoring more than 8,500 acres since the last referendum. In 2006, the district spent about $4,000 to restore one acre of land. Today it costs more than $12,000, she said.
Friling said the district board has been very conscientious about spending taxpayer money, as reflected in the drop in the district’s levy — or annual request for property tax revenue — from about $54.3 million in 2014 to almost $51.3 million in 2023. The tax rate has dropped from $2.30 for each $100 of equalized assessed valuation in 2006 to $1.50 in 2023.
If the referendum passes, the district will invest in clean air and water and stormwater management, healthy habitats and wildlife preservation, continued restoration efforts and outdoor opportunities for people of all ages and abilities.
District officials also have identified about 250 acres of land they would like to acquire over the next 10 years with a portion of referendum proceeds.
“DuPage County is 95 percent built out,” Friling said. “We know that over the course of the next decade, that land that is still undeveloped or vacant, there’s a very high probability it won’t be if we fast forward 10 years.”
Bob Schillerstrom, a former three-term member of the forest district board who is co-chairing the referendum citizens group, said previous ballot questios focused on land acquisition.
“Now there’s not as much left, but we have a duty to take care of it,” he said.
Schillerstrom praised the forest district for its responsible financial stewardship and AAA bond rating and said sometimes taxes need to go up.
“I’ve historically been a Republican, and we always didn’t want taxes to go up, but taxes are really important and people forget that elected officials have a responsibility to invest taxes into their communities,” he said. “If they don’t do that, they’re not doing their job.”
The district is limited in the amount taxes it can collect without going to referendum by the tax cap, which restricts the annual levy increase to the previous year’s consumer price index or 5 percent, whichever is lower, plus an amount for new growth. The CPI that controls this year’s levy is 3.4 percent.
Schillerstrom said he supports the decision to levy conservatively even though it means the district needs to pass a referendum now.
“It shows a responsibility because when they don’t need the money, they reduce the levy,” he said. “When they do, they come to the people and ask for it with a justifiable reason. I don’t think you can ask more out of your government officials.”
For more information, visit http://www.dupageforest.org/referendum2024.
