Western Springs Wealthy? Yes, But Here's Challenge

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL – Western Springs officials explained last week why the village needs more money for infrastructure projects.

Ninety-five percent of the village is residential properties. Western Springs lacks businesses such as car dealerships that tend to be big sales tax generators.

"Western Springs is often referred to as an affluent community, but it is important to remember that the limited sales tax revenue has a real impact on the funding available for infrastructure projects," Casey Biernacki, deputy village manager, said during a virtual meeting.

The village's median household income is $219,000, far greater than the statewide $81,000.

In the April 1 election, Western Springs voters are set to decide whether to raise property taxes and let the village go $45 million into debt for road, water, sewer and stormwater projects.

The current referendum is far greater than previous ones – $6 million in 2008 and $12 million in 2016.

Biernacki conceded that those referendums were for resurfacing streets, but not necessarily the water and sewer lines underneath them.

"Unfortunately, this means that many of these projects did not include replacement of critical infrastructure, leaving aging water main and sewer main under new pavement due to the lack of funding available," he said.

Because of this, the village has been required to tear into recently resurfaced streets to fix water mains. Examples include Central Avenue and Elm Street, officials said.

In 2023, the village paid an engineering firm to determine which roads and sewer and water mains need replacement. Those that need all three are priorities, according to the village.

Last year, Western Springs saw about 70 water main breaks, far more than the annual average of 30 to 40 over the last 15 years, said Matthew Supert, the village's municipal services director.

The 30 or 40, he said, was on par with towns of a similar age.

"Those are things we will continue to see worsen as these systems age," Supert said.

Most of the village's infrastructure was built in the early 20th century, he said.

If the referendum passes, the owner of a $750,000 house would see a $345 hike to the annual property tax bill over a decade, which works out to $29 a month. That's in addition to a total bill of roughly $16,000, according to the village.

The village is planning an in-person open house on the tax increase from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 11 at Thomas Ford Memorial Library.

Another such meeting is set for March 13, with the time and place yet to be announced.