Village To Educate Residents On Sales Tax Increase Referendum

At the Tuesday, February 21, village board meeting, Bourbonnais Mayor Paul Schore said there will be two open house events to “educate” residents about the upcoming sales tax referendum on the April 4 ballot. The same referendum, which would raise the sales tax in the village by one cent on the dollar, was defeated soundly in November last year.

Schore has said the village didn’t do a good job of getting information out to residents last time around. To correct that he says two open house events will be held at the community center, which is next door to village hall at Bourbonnais’ Municipal Campus, 700 NW Main. The dates are March 1 and March 29, from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

At the village board meeting, Schore said one of the benefits of passage would be property tax relief.  “The owner of a home worth $200,000 would owe about $300 in property tax to Bourbonnais, but passage of a sales tax increase would make it possible to rebate the full amount,” Schore noted.

In other business, the Bourbonnais Village Board voted to spend $139,487.45 on sidewalk improvements along NW Main. There are some portions in the immediate downtown area in need of repairs and some intersections that need to be restructured for compliance to Americans With Disabilities Act requirements. Davis Concrete Construction was awarded the work contract.