Regarding the lawsuit filed by the Naperville Township Road District Commission
We are presently reviewing the claims made in it and our options in response.
I believe it is important for all residents of Naperville Township to know that State law expressly grants the Township Board of Trustees authority to approve the Road District’s tentative budget or parts of that budget as the Board of Trustees deems necessary.
State law does not give the Road District or the Highway Commissioner authority to establish its own budget. The Board adopted those parts of the Road District’s tentative budget necessary to operate the Road District for the upcoming fiscal year. The Township Board did not increase any line items or add any line items in the Road District’s budget. It merely approved parts of the tentative budget as the statute authorizes it to do.
The Road District did not fulfill its express commitment made to the Board on April 6 to negotiate in good faith with the City of Naperville to reach a mutually satisfactory outcome that would result in a substantial contract for services starting around July 1. In the last few years the Road District has stockpiled cash, in an amount now the highest in the area, and can use that money to easily offset the reductions in the annual operating budget.
In this time of governmental fiscal crisis, we have a duty to provide services to an acceptable level at the lowest cost possible on a sustainable basis. The services provided by the Road District to the unincorporated areas of Naperville Township are heavily subsidized by the property taxes of incorporated residents living in the Naperville, Aurora and Warrenville portions of Naperville Township. In 2015, the incorporated residential property taxpayers subsidized the median value unincorporated residential parcel by over $900.
I remain confident that the action taken by the Board is an important first step towards establishing a smarter, sustainable, more cost-effective service delivery model for Naperville Township’s residents. The action taken by the Board is lawful, consistent with the will of a majority of our electors, consistent with our stated platform as reform candidates and consistent with the State and County goals of smart local government. We look forward to resolving this case expeditiously in the courts for the benefit of all of the residents and taxpayers of Naperville Township.
Rachel Ossyra, Naperville Township Supervisor
May 22, 2016
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Editor’s Note / Positively Naperville occasionally posts Open Letters to the Community written by local elected leaders and public officials on current topics of interest to local readers.
The next meeting for Naperville Township Board of Trustees is slated for 6PM Tues., June 14, 2016, in the Naperville Township Building, located at 139 Water Street.
Note also that the Naperville Township Building is open during construction of the Water Street District. For more info, visit www.napervilletownship.com.
