After Villa Park residents Tuesday voted down two referendum measures that would have funded road work, local officials are being forced to rethink plans for repairs and maintenance to village side streets.
“The next steps are doing as much as we can with what we have,” Villa Park Trustee Dave Hegland said. “Road plans will be juggled as best we can.”
The first question sought approval for Villa Park to sell $27.5 million in bonds to repave and reconstruct 40 percent of the village’s roads. Federal and state funding supports road repairs only on main thoroughfares, such as St. Charles Road. Any side-street repair or resurfacing must be funded by the village.
With all precincts reporting, nearly 56.5 percent of voters opposed the measure, while about 43.5 percent voted in support of it.
The second referendum asked residents to agree to a half-percent sales tax increase.
Municipalities can levy their own rates; Villa Park’s sales tax currently stands at 7.25 percent. The proposed increase in the village’s sales tax would have brought it to 7.75 percent. The revenue generated from the increase in sales tax would have been used for street maintenance and future road improvement projects.
About 55.5 percent of the electorate voted against the second measure, while 44.5 percent supported it.
Some trustees say the questions might be brought back to voters again in the future.
“I’m disappointed but the key is that the people of Villa Park spoke, and I think that’s most important,” Villa Park Trustee Jeff Blankensop said. “What I’d like to see is to place both of these components on the very next ballot, and maybe package it a little differently. It would be great if we could get this thing passed and started in time for the 100th anniversary for Villa Park.”
Villa Park Village President Tom Cullerton could not be reached for comment.
