This week, State Representative Tom Weber (R-Lake Villa) unanimously advanced legislation through the House Cities and Villages Committee. House Bill 3369 allows the Village of Lindenhurst to consolidate the Lindenhurst Sanitary District into the village, subsequently dissolving the unnecessary extra taxing district.
“One of the reasons property taxes are so high in Illinois is because of the inefficiency caused by having so many extra taxing bodies we don’t need,” said Weber. “This is exactly the situation with the Lindenhurst Sanitary District. The sanitary district already contracts with the village to operate and maintain the wastewater treatment plant, so there is no need to have the extra cost and bureaucracy of having a separate taxing district.”
Under current state law, the Lindenhurst Sanitary District must exist as a separate taxing district with its own appointed board. However, since the sanitary district is almost entirely within the Village of Lindenhurst and the village is already contracted to maintain and operate the wastewater systems, there is no real need to keep the two separate. The sanitary district board even holds its meetings at the village hall. To allow for the consolidation of the sanitary district into the village, House Bill 3369 amends the state Sanitary District Act to allow the village to pass an ordinance to dissolve the sanitary board and assume its authority to administer wastewater operations for the area.
“I want to thank Mayor Marturano, the village and the members of the sanitary board for working with me to bring this legislation forward and I hope the full House passes it with the same unanimous support it received in committee,” said Weber.
As noted, House Bill 3369 passed through committee by a unanimous vote of 12 to 0. It will now be taken up by the full House of Representatives before heading to the state Senate for similar consideration. For more information about the legislation, Click Here.