Tax Will Hurt Vulnerable

There is a public hearing on consideration of a teardown tax for the Village of Wilmette, to be held Monday, July 24th at 7:30 PM.

I don't need to tell most of you this is a BAD IDEA!!!

Here is an excerpt of a letter to the Wilmette Village Board, sent to me by a Wilmette resident who opposes the tax:

Many of the properties sold for teardowns are small, old houses which would cost far more to fix up than can be justified by the reality of today’s real estate market. The land on which they sit constitutes nearly all their value. The burden of the tax will fall directly upon the sellers of the properties affected. Claims that the “developers” or buyers of the redeveloped property will pay are made with a woeful lack of understanding of economics.

The replacement of small, old obsolete houses, with no architectural distinction, is healthy for Wilmette.It greatly enhances the tax rolls, as well as the value of the nearby properties.

The owners of these properties are often senior citizens, and the proceeds of the sale may be critical to pay for assisted living or nursing home care.Passing this tax will deprive these sellers of the amount of the tax, as the value of their properties will immediately decline by the amount of the tax.

This tax will hurt many of the people it purports to help and subsidize housing for a well-connected few. Unfortunately this is coming up during the summer when many residents are on vacation. If you can, go to the hearing and/or email your village board members.