Shorewood officials recently reviewed the Village’s estimated $1.6 million tax levy request for 2017.
The matter was previously reviewed Oct. 24 during a Shorewood Village Board Committee of the Whole meeting.
“The only proposed change to this year’s levy over last year’s extension is the reclassification of some funds extended for debt,” finance director Anne Burkholder said. “We’re eliminating that limited tax bond process and then increasing the corporate rate by the same amount, so it’s a net impact of zero.”
That positions the Village to relocate funds valued at $333,821.51 budgeted toward debt payment contributions into the corporation fund.
The measure, if approved, does not mean that the average taxpayer’s share of the Village’s property taxes remains consistent. A number of factors are applied when determining what a typical resident is obligated to pay.
A public hearing and a vote is 7 p.m. Dec. 12 during the Shorewood Village Board meeting, at which point officials have until before the last Tuesday in December to submit the tax levy to the Will County clerk.
Village seeking grant funding for Black Road multi-use path
Also at the meeting, trustees received a project update on the Village’s Black Road multi-use path and went on to approve a measure allowing for the submission of a grant application for Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program funds.
“Recently, there was a call for projects for Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program funds,” said Bryan Welch, project manager for Christopher B. Burke Engineering. “It’s a really competitive grant application process, … but bike paths are commonly one of the types of projects awarded. This connection between Route 59 along Black Road and the bike paths and bridges that are being built over the DuPage River and I-55 next year by the Forest Preserve [District of Will County] is an important connection we’ve been talking about for a long time.”
The Village is pursuing the grant, with a desire to connect Shorewood residents to a network of dozens of new trails northeast and south of the area in question.
“One of the things this project has going for it is that the Forest Preserve’s project in the east was also funded using ITEP funds,” Welch said. “That’s approved. It’s going to be built next year.”
Between land acquisition, construction and engineering, the estimated costs of the project amounts to $1.5 million. If the grant is selected and approved in full, the Village would be responsible for $400,000, or 20 percent of the cost.
ITEP applications need to be submitted by Dec. 1. As part of that process, effort would be put in to request letters of support from neighboring taxing districts.
The funds, if awarded, would require the Village to follow the federal process for engineering. If all goes according to that plan, construction could begin by 2020.
If not, the Village could reapply next year or take steps to fund the preliminary phase of engineering and land acquisition to make its next grant application more attractive. That money expended could come out of the Village’s share of $400,000.
Round it up
A brief recap of action and discussion from the Nov. 14 meeting of the Shorewood Village Board:
Trustees approved a loan payment valued at $142,157.05 to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for Mound Road Water Tower.
The board allotted a payment in the amount of $17,439 to Highway Products Inc. for a service body for the Village’s F-350 Water Department Truck.
Village officials authorized the release of a payment valued at $216,297 to Peterbilt for a 2018 Peterbilt Model 348 Truck.
Trustees waived a second read and went on to amend a Village code regulating the rate at which travel expenses are reimbursed for privately owned vehicles at 30 cents per mile. The measure, as approved, aligns the policy section with the current IRS reimbursement rate of 53.5 cents per mile, which commonly changes once per year.
Shorewood officials reviewed a proposed amendment to a policy outlining the Village’s monthly sewer and water charges, effective Dec. 1. The water fee assessed to residents in Village limits could increase from $3.47 to $3.88 per 1,000 gallons, while the sewer rate could jump from $11.98 to $12.55 per 1,000 gallons. Trustees will vote on this matter at their Nov. 28 meeting.