Here are a few of the SPEAK OUT comments in the July 4 paper. To see all of the comments, pick up a copy of this week’s Lombardian.
After a storm came through with high winds and big hail, I had three good-size branches fall from my maple tree. I managed to get them off the sidewalk to the curb. I called the village to see if they pick up branches downed by a storm. The answer was no; bundle and sticker. I’m a close-to 80-year-old senior woman with no good equipment to saw through thick branches. Now I have to pay someone to help me. How come other suburbs pick up debris from storms, have two weeks of spring cleaning where you can put out anything for pickup and sweep leaves from the curb in the fall? All free. We have an increase in the sticker price and now sticker bundles. Just what do my increased taxes pay for?
Your comments prompted a three-fold response from the Village of Lombard, which is as follows:
“• Storm Policy:
The village does have a policy in place that allows the village to assist residents in the event of a large-scale storm. Under the policy, there are two levels of response. The first is a Localized Response, in which more than 50, but less than 200, homes are impacted by a storm, or a 50-year rain event. The second level is a Village Response, in which 200 or more homes are impacted by a storm, or rainfall that exceeds a 50-year storm event. Although isolated damage has been reported, there have been no such large-scale occurrences this year. In the event that a severe storm should impact Lombard, residents will still be responsible for bundling their own brush, or hiring a company that may work on private property. Please contact public works at 630-620-5740 with any questions.
•Bundled Brush Fee:
The former “free” bundled brush service had actually cost the village $83,610 annually. The village is facing serious budget concerns and must assess all spending. In order maintain a high level of core services. All village services that may appear to be “free” do have an associated cost and are factored in to the village’s budget. Due to budget concerns that are beyond the village’s control (increased costs and State mandates), Village Staff has been tasked with identifying discretionary/enhanced services and assessing their funding. Free bundled brush pick-up was identified as an enhanced service.
•About Property Taxes:
Lombard receives less than $0.08 per tax dollar. To be exact, the Village received 7.36 percent of resident property taxes to fund public safety including your police and fire departments, road, sewer, and water maintenance from public works; building and code enforcement, maps, and ADA compliance from community development; long-term financial planning from the finance department, responsible management and reliable communications from the village manager’s office and staff management from Human Resources. The remaining 92.6 percent of resident property taxes are allocated to York Township (1.09 percent), DuPage County (3.79 percent), the [Lombard] Park District (5 percent), the Helen Plum Library (5.60 percent), and school districts (77.16 percent). For questions pertaining to property taxes, please contact the Lombard Finance Department at 630-620-5931.
As always, please feel free to reach out to the Village with any questions at 630-620-5740 or [email protected].”—JAC
Villa Park calling. I was on Roosevelt Road this week (referring to week of June 23-June 29) and saw the Motel 6 was advertising rooms for $63.99 a night on a week night. I had to do a double-take. I couldn’t believe it! When you figure in taxes, that has to be at least $70 a night—to stay at a Motel 6? I always thought Motel 6 was supposed to be a budget hotel chain. They must have given Tom Bodett a new contract. Wow!
It’s always construction season in Illinois, but there seems to be more than usual; our tax dollars hard at work? But, for those of you who wait until the lane ends to push your way to the front of the line, don’t you realize you are making the bottleneck worse? It’s drivers like you who make lane closures crawl at a snail’s pace. If you would just start making your way into the next lane as soon as you see the sign, and if drivers would take turns letting people in, I believe it would make that transition go much smoother and make things move along more quickly. I know I for one resent the last-second lane-changers, and am tempted to leave them stuck, but I don’t because I know I would only be contributing to the problem. What do you say, folks?
My Irish ancestors came here when the Irish were discriminated against, “Help wanted” signs said “Irish need not apply”. They also did not have welfare benefits, etc. they took any low paying job to survive. I have never had slaves, why should I pay? Stop expecting handouts. Move on.
