Home Rule for Villa Park

There are 2 more scheduled Village Meetings to learn about Home Rule.

• Home Rule Question and Answer Meeting at Village Hall this Saturday Feb. 2, 2008 Starting at 9:00 am
• Home Rule Question and Answer Meeting at Village Hall this Monday Feb. 4, 2008 Starting at 7:00pm

The Villa Park Village Board wants to reach out to all Villa Park residents with correct information regarding Home Rule so that you can make an informed decision on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008.

You may have attended a Public Hearing on Home Rule or watched one of the many cable programs where Mayors and rental property owners talked about the positive advantages of becoming a Home Rule Village. However, you still may have a few more concerns about this issue.  If you do, please attend this Saturday morning’s meeting with me, the trustees and the village manager and please pass this invitation on to a friend or neighbor.

This is crunch time for this issue. I want to ask all of you to talk with your friends and neighbors, bring them to a meeting, and hopefully we can get Home Rule for Villa Park !

“As a newly elected Trustee, one of my first priorities on the job has been focused on helping improve the quality of Village neighborhoods that have fallen in disrepair and discussing ways to reduce crime in these areas and others.

In my opinion, if these issues were resolved I believe that Villa Park and its residence would see an up-tick in business development, property values, and an overall improvement in one’s quality of life here in town. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that my initial goals would be so difficult to achieve.

Through group discussions about the topic with other Board members, a “Crime Free” community & housing program was brought to the Board’s attention. This type of program would allow the Village Board to propose a landlord licensing program, offering recourse for code violations associated with disrepair of rental property or other violations. Additionally, this program would give way to proposing harsh penalties on renters that commit illegal acts on rental properties, leading to quick evictions if found guilty of such crimes. In order to establish a “Crime Free” community & housing program, the Village of Villa Park must be a Home Rule unit. Several communities have established Home Rule to implement a “Crime Free” community & housing program and have had tremendous success; Schaumburg is one such community.

Unfortunately, often times when folks hear about Home Rule, they immediately think of increased taxes. Because the Board is sensitive to this subject, we have passed an ordinance to levy taxes when requested as if we were still a non – Home Rule town with a tax cap. We have also put safe guards in place if the Board were to recommend a usage tax, committing to public hearings and offering citizens a chance to submit petitions, which would lead to a referendum vote on the proposed ordinance. I believe we have all of the safe guards in place to assure citizens that we are focused on a “Crime Free” community & housing program and not on taxes.

I encourage all citizens to get out on Feb. 5th and vote yes for Home Rule!

Thank you.

Jeff Blankensop - Trustee
Village of Villa Park

The past few weeks have been good politics. I’m proud of the folks who’ve come out in favor of home rule and also proud of those who’ve come out against it. At the end of the day, that’s what politics should be all about: subjecting ideas to public scrutiny and discourse. Some ideas survive such scrutiny and others wither under it. The next week will tell which kind of idea is Villa Park’s Home Rule referendum.

For my part, I remain firmly in favor of home rule for Villa Park. Regardless of any issue immediately before the village, I believe it is always better to keep decision-making power as local as possible, and for that reason alone, I support Home Rule for Villa Park.

Beyond that basic philosophy, there are also good practical benefits that Villa Park can derive from Home Rule. Chief among those benefits is the Crime-Free Multi-Housing (CFMH) program, which has been consistently successful all across the country, when it is made mandatory and absentee landlords who ignore the mandate are fined and lose their license to run their rental businesses. Other benefits have been described in the various public meetings and informational materials distributed by the village.

As for the case against home rule, I have heard four points:

Some say Home Rule is unlimited taxation.
This is by far the most common objection to Home Rule. Home Rule does indeed confer far greater taxing powers. Unfortunately, the Home Rule powers necessary to mandate a CFMH program bring with them the taxing powers. We on the board do not seek those greater taxing powers, but we understand why such powers concern people. Therefore, we have passed ordinances to make difficult the process of levying new taxes.

Some say that the safeguard ordinances are meaningless.
A future board certainly could repeal the safeguard ordinances that we have passed. At tonight’s meeting we began work on an ordinance that would require any future Home-Rule derived or related ordinance, whether or not it’s a tax, to undergo a full cycle of formal board meetings (committe-of-whole, first reading, final reading) which would span more than a month. I also will insist on a publishing requirement so that any future board who would repeal our safeguards will have to do so in broad daylight.

Some say Home Rule grants too much power.
The powers that Home Rule grants already exist… in Springfield. Home Rule, if the voters grant it, will transfer a bunch of power from Springfield to Villa Park. If you don’t like big government far away having the power, then you should favor Home Rule.

It seems to me that thoughtful people who raise the "too much power" objection lack faith in their neighbors and in themselves to elect good Trustees from a pool of 22,000 Villa Parkers, or think of Springfield as career politicians who have more legislative experience than us yokels have.

On that point, only you know how you feel. For my part, my very presence in this office has been intended from the beginning to set an example. Yes I’m a yokel, but I am your yokel and nobody else’s. Any of you out there who believe that you can serve your village by helping to make these big decisions can run for office and maybe even win. I did. It’s far from impossible. The more people who put themselves forward, the better board we will get. It seems to me that having Home Rule might even increase scrutiny of candidates or better yet, voter involvement and turnout. It seems to me that Home Rule places power in the hands of an active and informed citizenry who gets out there and serves on boards and commissions.

Some say that a CFMH-style program can be implemented without Home Rule.
There are non-home-rule towns out there who have passed some portions of a CFMH-style program. For example, Non-Home-Rule Broadview requires "Certificates of Occupancy" and mandates inspections to get them, but they do not require the "Crime Free Lease Addendum", nor the CEPTED property modifications. Furthermore, such ordinances are more vunerable to a legal challenge without Home Rule. We are absolutely certain that a CFMH ordinance here without Home Rule backing will be challenged immediately. Even if we win such a challenge, which is not guaranteed, it would be costly and counterproductive. I believe that the board is correct to seek the most solid possible legal footing. I’ve said repeatedly before that we should push the envelope and be ready to win legal challenges. Consistent with that position, I favor Home Rule for Villa Park.

Some say that Home Rule was abused in Villa Park back in the 70s
All I have to say to this is "Show me an example". I’ve yet to be shown one. No tax was passed in Villa Park under Home Rule powers. Show me an example. Just one.

Posted on the Villa Park Open Forum by Trustee Dave Hegland

The Daily Herald Editorial Staff has given and published an Endorsement of Home Rule in Villa Park

Mention "home rule" and someone invariably will howl, "higher taxes."

That’s not an unfounded complaint, in that many home-rule governments have used their home-rule authority to increase taxes beyond the provision of the state tax cap. But the village of Villa Park insists its Feb. 5 referendum asking voters to give back the home-rule powers they took away almost three decades ago does have prominent safeguards against using the authority as a tax windfall.

First of all, village officials say they would invoke the greater lawmaking abilities that come with home rule to impose tougher laws regulating bad landlords. Specifically, the village wants to enact a crime-free housing program that allows it to license landlords and — most significantly — revoke their right to rent if their units are not up to code. That’s significant in Villa Park, officials say, because some apartment complexes have fallen into disrepair, and buildings have been individually sold, creating a surfeit of landlords.

Further, the village has passed an ordinance stating that it will continue to levy taxes as if it were still a non-home-rule town bound by the tax cap. It states: "It shall be the policy of the village to levy property taxes in the same amount and to the same extent as if the village had remained a non-home rule unit and was subject to the maximum aggregate levy increase permitted by statute."

The village also has bound itself to hold public hearings should it decide to levy any new tax. And if 10 percent of residents petition against it, a binding referendum will be held on the proposed tax. Critics point out such a no-tax ordinance can be overturned by future village boards, and we wish it did not put the onus on residents to petition against a new tax. But the village deserves the tools to fight some serious problems. We encourage a "yes" vote.

From the Daily Herald

On Monday night’s meeting, Our Village Trustees voted unanimously to enact an ordinance further limiting their ability to create new taxes and gave the Villa Park Residents the ability to defeat any new taxes the Village might try to enact in the future. They did this not because they plan to create taxes, but instead have done this in order to reassure our residents that they are looking at Home Rule Authority as a tool for programs other then taxing.

Text of the ordinance that passed Monday Evening:

ORDINANCE REPEALING ORDINANCE NO. 3449 AND
ADOPTING NEW POLICIES RE HOME RULE TAX LIMITATIONS

WHEREAS, a referendum is presently pending which would confer home rule status upon the Village of Villa Park if approved by the voters of the Village; and

WHEREAS, on December 10, 2007, by Ordinance No. 3449, the Village adopted certain policies regarding tax limitations and reductions or abatements; and

WHEREAS, President and Board of Trustees find and hereby declare that it is in the best interests of the Village and its residents to repeal Ordinance No. 3449 and to adopt policies with respect to property taxes and property tax reduction in the event that the village becomes a home rule municipality;

SECTION ONE: The recitals set forth hereinabove shall be and are hereby incorporated in this Section One as if they were fully set forth herein.

SECTION TWO: Ordinance No. 3449 of the Village, passed on December 10, 2007, shall be and is hereby repealed and shall no longer be in force and effect.

SECTION THREE: In the event the Village becomes a home rule municipality, it shall be the policy of the Village to levy real property taxes in the same amount and to the same extent as if the Village had remained a non-home rule unit and was subject to the maximum aggregate levy increase permitted by statute.

SECTION FOUR: In the event the Village becomes a home rule municipality, it shall be the policy of the Village to consider property tax reductions or tax abatements when revenues warrant.

SECTION FIVE: Except for real property taxes, as set forth hereinabove, in the event the Village becomes a home rule municipality, prior to the adoption of any ordinance imposing any new tax on any person or property in the Village that is not authorized under the provisions of the Illinois Municipal Code for municipalities that are not home rule units, the Board of Trustees shall follow the following procedure:

1. The Board shall cause preparation of a statement setting forth the intended use of the additional revenue to be derived from such tax and shall cause publication of such statement along with the publication of the text of the proposed ordinance on the Village website.

    

2. The President shall cause one or more public hearings to be held in compliance with the provisions of the Open Meetings Act (5 ILCS 120/1 et seq.) with respect to the proposed ordinance, which public hearing(s) shall be presided over by the President or the President Pro-Tem, at which any person interested in the subject matter of such proposed ordinance may appear, in person or by attorney, and submit statements and documentary evidence to the person conducting such hearing. Notice of the time and place of such hearings shall (1) be published on the Village website and (2) be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the Village not less than seven (7) nor more than thirty (30) days prior to the public hearing date.

    

3. The Board of Trustees shall receive all petitions and written statements supporting or opposing such proposed ordinance. If petitions opposing such proposed ordinance contain signatures of Village residents equal to 10 percent or more of the total votes cast for the office of Villa Park Village President in the last local election, it shall be the policy of the Board of Trustees to hold a general referendum on such proposed ordinance. If the majority of the persons voting at such referendum are opposed to such proposed ordinance, it shall be the policy of the Village not to adopt such ordinance.

SECTION SIX: Any and all policies, resolutions or ordinances of the Village of Villa Park that conflict with the provisions of this ordinance shall be, and they are hereby, repealed to the extent of such conflict.

SECTION SEVEN: This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage, approval, and publication in the manner provided by law.

At the next board of trusttes meeting on Next Meeting January 14, 2008 the board is expected to consider an amendment which provides further protection to the residents of Villa Park.

The ordinace which is being considered would provide that should be Board of Trustees decide to implement any new tax upon the citizens of Villa Park, then:

• The board must explain the tax and what the anticipated revenue will be used for;
• A time period (as yet undetermined) shall be given for the residents to consider the proposed tax measure;
• The residents will be given an opportunity to circulate a petition opposing the proposed tax;
• If enough signatures are obtained opposing the proposed tax then the ordinance may not be enacted unless a public referendum is taken and the measure is approved by the voters.

What this ordinance would do is give the residents of Villa Park a Safety Net against new taxes that they may consider inappropriate. It gives the residents an opportunity to stand up and say no, and requires the board of trustees to comply with the wishes of the residents. Downers Grove has a very similar ordinance in effect and it appears to have served it’s residents very well.

I had a chance to video tape the "Coffee with the Board" meeting on January 8, 2008 and here is a portion of that meeting where Trustees Hegland and Cullerton talk about how they feel about this ordinance and Taxes in General.

An official copy of the proposed ordinance should be available on the Villa Park Website within the next day or two. (www.invillapark.com)

I urge you to contact your Trustees and/or Village Manager and ask questions about the Home Rule Referendum. Come to one of the upcoming meetings (meeting schedule is posted on the top rght of this page) or contact the Board members directly and share your questions and concerns.

Vote YES to the Home Rule Referendum on Feburary 5th!

If you have questions about home rule, ASK!

Our Village Board Members are more then happy to answer your questions and hear your comments.

A series of public meetings are scheduled where you can ask questions and express your comments. They are as follows:

Jan 16, 2008 7:00pm
Iowa Community Center

Jan 17, 2008 7:00pm
Community Recreation Center

Jan 30, 2008 7:00pm
Villa Park Library

Feb 04, 2008 7:00pm
Village Hall

If you can not attend one of these public meetings, you can also contact one of the following:

Bob Niemann - Village Manager
(630) 834-8500 (Village Hall office)
bobn@vppd.org

Joyce Stupegia - Village Board President
(630) 592-6078 (Village Hall office)
joycestupegia@aol.com

Jeff Blankensop - Village Trustee
jblankensop@gmail.com

Thomas Cullerton - Village Trustee
trusteecullerton@comcast.net

John Davis - Village Trustee
(630) 279-2201
trusteedavis@comcast.net

David Hegland - Village Trustee
anddave@mindspring.com

On November 26, 2007 the Villa Park Board of Trustees voted unamiously to place a referendum on the February 5, 2008 ballot asking the residents of Villa Park to enact HOME RULE for the Village of Villa Park, Illinois.

This website has been created to help educate the residents of Villa Park as to what Home Rule means for our village and why Villa Park needs Home Rule authority.

A non-home rule community cannot do anything unless the state legislature says so. A home rule city can do anything it wants unless it is specifically prohibited by the state legislature. It is an important distinction: home rule cities have more say over matters of local concern by being granted the ability to pass laws or regulations without depending only on permissions stated in State statutes.

We believe that Villa Park residents and elected officials know what’s best for Villa Park more than the state legislature, so local control is inherently beneficial. That said, some residents have concerns about home rule and feel it may be abused. The following are three misconceptions about home rule that I hope will clear up some of the trepidation.

Read about the Three Misconceptions about Home Rule 

VOTE YES TO HOME RULE ON FEBRUARY 5th!