Dozens of Residents Sign Petition to Abolish Palatine Township Road District
A petition asking the Palatine Township board to pay for an independent study that would identify taxpayer benefits to abolishing the road district was filed Thursday by 30 Palatine residents, according to Matt Flamm.
More than 30 Palatine Township residents signed and submitted a petition Thursday to the township clerk, seeking the abolition of the road district, according to Matt Flamm, township resident and former political candidate.
The petition, according to Flamm, asks the Palatine Township board to, “commission an independent study of the potential benefits to taxpayers of abolishing the Road District and make that study public by December 31,” Flamm said in a Local Voice contribution on Palatine Patch.
Flamm cited a new law that allows township boards to put a referendum on the ballot relating to the abolishment of road districts.
“Eight years ago they had fewer than 18 miles of unincorporated roads to handle, and each year we have more annexations,” Flamm said. “The budget is millions of dollars and ridiculously high for the length of road in the township.”
Flamm proposes that that burden be shifted to the village, namingly the Village of Palatine, who he believes would be able to take over not only the snow plowing of roughly 18 or less unincorporated miles of road, but the 15-20% of routes that the township currently handles for the village.
“On the tax bill, roads and bridges take up more than all of the other parts combined. Half of it goes to the municipality and other half goes to road district,” Flamm said.
There are hundreds of miles of road in villages, and if the township took over the road district and contracted with the village, their cost per mile would be a lot less, and that would ultimately save money for taxpayers, he said.
Village Manager Reid Ottesen said that from a snowplow standpoint, the village currently doesn’t have enough resources, and if the burden were shifted, staffing levels and vehicles would have to be increased.
“Right now, the township covers the equivalent of two routes for us, which is up to 20 percent of our rotes,” Ottesen said. “It is more cost effective to outsource to the township.”
“I just don’t see how it’s practical without us increasing our expenses to do so, we have a good relationship with the township and help each other out in-kind, often. The village council approves our intergovernmental agreement each year,” Ottesen said.
Flamm believes if the village took over, it would be compensated through a shift in tax allocation, and taxpayers would save money as well.
Tom Kaider, who recently won the Republican primary for Palatine Township Highway Commissioner and will be the party's candidate in the April election, is open to the idea.
“Without exception, my only commitment is to Palatine Township taxpayers and what is best for the community,” Kaider said. I respect Matt Flamm for his interest in township government.”
“I believe in small government and fiscal conservatism, and that has not changed since I’ve been elected,” Kaider said. “I’m open to any idea that could possibly lead us to a more efficient government.”
The Palatine Township annual meeting will be held on April 16. For more information, visit the Palatine Township website.
Skip
9:50 am on Saturday, March 2, 2013
Too bad this petition wasn't publicized and circulated more broadly.
bigfoot14
11:19 am on Saturday, March 2, 2013
I would have signed it.....of course, I believe that the whole township form of government should disappear....it was great in 1850, but today, not so much.
Cindy
11:23 am on Saturday, March 2, 2013
The amount of local and township government dominions is rediculous! There should be a major consolidation of villages and township governments to reduce waste and redundancies. Where I grew up, the county and city government was one entity. Cook county is too big for this, but there certainly can and should be major consolidations.
Frank Reiss
11:35 am on Saturday, March 2, 2013
The Village or the Township should have the exact amount of miles of road and what services are needed. Then do the math how much money is spent divided by amount of miles with adding variables. Then the Village can prepare a competitive quote to see the comparison.
Matt Flamm
12:06 pm on Saturday, March 2, 2013
Thanks for your excellent comments. Please plan to attend the annual meeting on April 16th at 7:30 pm at the Palatine Township Center, 721 S. Quentin Rd., Palatine. If you are a registered voter in Palatine Township, you'll have a chance to vote for the resolution.
Matt Flamm
2:46 pm on Saturday, March 2, 2013
Professor Hamilton’s full 2008 report can be found at https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/265080-township-government-essential-or-expendable-the.html. In the report, the author states:
“An analysis of the townships’ road and bridge expenditures for 2007 showed that the average cost per mile to maintain township roads was $43,395. These costs are excessive compared to other governments. For comparison, an analysis of 2006-2007 budgeted or actual expenses for 8 north and northwest Chicago suburban municipalities showed an average cost of $16,030 per mile, less than half the costs for townships.” (Pages 14-15)
Appendix III to the report states that the Palatine Township Road District had a cost per mile of $36,676. The actual figure is probably higher. The report states that Palatine Township had 27.71 miles of unincorporated road, but that figure was from the 2000 census. Between 2000 and 2007, at least one-third of those roads were annexed to the Village of Palatine or Rolling Meadows. With one-third fewer miles, the cost per mile would be about $54,000.
Chicago Food Guy
4:27 pm on Saturday, March 2, 2013
Mr. Flamm, based on the report you provided, the per capita property taxes were lower in non-township communities. How much do you propose our property taxes will be lowered assuming the Palatine Township is abolished? Will the current employees working for the Township be offered positions with the Village?
Matt Flamm
5:38 pm on Saturday, March 2, 2013
Very good questions. Let's assume the average cost per mile for municipalities is $16,030, as Professor Hamilton found, and that the Road District services 18 miles of road. (I think it's less.) If the Township paid the Village of Palatine and other municipalities $288,540 (18 miles times $16,030) to maintain those roads, it could save more than 80% of the money the Road District is spending now. That's just one scenario. As for your second question, that would be up to the Village. Also, the township board might agree to transfer the trucks and other equipment now owned by the Road District to the municipalities.
upton
11:46 am on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
One downside of township consolidation into municipalities to consider is that most municipalities are basically on a hiring freeze. Cook co wants all the unincorporated areas to be annexed but the towns don't want them due to cost. FYI I'm in favor of consolidation as it is the logical route, just wait for the towns to squeak.
Matt Flamm
12:03 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
The township would have to contract with the municipalities to maintain the unincorporated roads. See my previous comment for an example of how that might work. For $16,000 per mile, the municipality could more than cover its cost. The township could pay double that amount per mile and still save more than half of what the road district is spending now.
Patricia
7:34 am on Thursday, March 7, 2013
Mr. Flamm's hypothetiical proposal analysis makes tons of sense. Question: with the savings, can we assume our property taxes would go down?? Or can we assume that they stay at least the same to pay off, say, pensions??? This is such a great idea and the type of idea we should be doing on a Federal basis, ie, clean out the excess. But would the council's collective eyes light up at the thought of all this "extra" cash???
Chicago Food Guy
1:36 pm on Thursday, March 7, 2013
I was hoping to see some form of relief on our individual taxes AND for the village to hire those workers that will be out of a job otherwise. One thing I don't want to see is the township abolished with little or no tax relief and more people unemployed (which is another tax burden on our society).
Shawn
9:53 am on Thursday, March 7, 2013
is the 18 miles of road lane miles , 18 lane miles = 9 miles of 2 lane road
or 18 miles of 2 lane road =36 lane miles ?
Chicago Food Guy
9:56 pm on Monday, March 11, 2013
1.56% of the budget goes to the Township...if you really want to save money, look at who takes the biggest piece of the pie. I'd say leave the Township alone and look at the abusive unions involving our schools. Getting rid of the Township will not save us much money at all in the grand scheme of things.
Matt Flamm
10:26 pm on Monday, March 11, 2013
Sorry, Guy, but that doesn't make sense. Public schools are why my wife and I moved to Palatine, and the teachers and other unionized school workers (including bus drivers) were responsible for the excellent education our daughters received. But whether or not we agree about schools, why would you want to waste money on the road district?