Brookfield’s referendum to increase the limiting tax rate for one year to establish a permanent funding source for ongoing and future street maintenance has failed with 59.94% of voters rejecting it.
With all 12 village precincts reporting results as of 9 p.m. on Nov. 3, 4,060 voters cast ballots to shoot down the initiative while 2,714 voted instead to pass it, according to the Cook County Clerk’s Office’s summary of suburban election results. The results do not include mail-in ballots, and the county will certify the results of Tuesday’s election in the coming weeks.
“The voters have spoken,” Village President Michael Garvey told the Landmark Tuesday night. “We did the best we could to try and get the information out there, and we respect what the voters have said. We will look at our options going forward to try and do the best thing we can for Brookfield.”
The referendum sought to increase Brookfield’s limiting tax rate for one year to capture $2 million in additional revenue that would have supplemented $3 million in other annual funding sources so Brookfield could maintain a 25-year road maintenance program. Village trustees on Oct. 26 passed a resolution committing funds resulting from the referendum to the purpose of improving streets in response to concerns from residents about potential misuse of the money.
The rate increase would have been timed to go into effect as the village’s bond debt from 2016 expires, creating a tax-neutral effect on residents while allowing the village to reap additional funding that had been paid toward legal fees and other expenses in the wake of the bond issuance a decade ago.
Garvey attributed the referendum’s failure to its concurrence with rising costs and a struggling economy that Brookfield residents are feeling.
“The timing is absolutely tough. The people are hurting; the economy is tough. There’s an affordability crisis going on,” Garvey said. “Just as residents are having difficulty paying their bills and making ends meet, the village has some of the same concerns.”
Brookfield issued bonds in 2016, 2018 and 2020 after the village’s March 2016 referendum passed with nearly 60% of voters supporting it. Through 2030, the corresponding debt is set to be paid off, so Brookfield would not have been able to capture the full $2 million until then.
While concerns over misuse of the funds may have swayed the election results, Village Manager Tim Wiberg in October said it would be impossible for village officials like him or Finance Director Doug Cooper to misuse the funds without being caught in the village’s state-required annual audit.
“If there was any inclination or proof that I allowed Doug to use this money [for other purposes], guess what? We’re going to not only get fired but probably arrested,” Wiberg said then.
While the village’s path to finding a way to sustain road maintenance is not yet clear, Wiberg and Assistant Village Manager Stevie Ferrari have said Brookfield’s government may have to seek another issuance of bonds to keep up with a typical 25-year schedule. Otherwise, roads are at risk of falling into disrepair as the village would be left to pursue a 50-year schedule with its existing sources of funding, Wiberg said.
“We would need voter permission to issue bonds, possibly. We look at all those options,” Garvey said. “We take direction from the residents. We will maintain the streets the best we can with the funds that we have at this point, and we’ll give options to the residents going forward.”
