Common Sense Strikes Wilmette

(Column written for the Chicago Daily Observer, crossposted here.)

Common sense strikes Wilmette. Last year taxes went up 9% for the Village of Wilmette, this year the village board has approved a 4% hike in the property tax. A small pat on the back because they didn't raise it by the projected 6% (which last I looked is at least double the underlying inflation rate). The board was somewhat sensitive to the fact that residents are facing hefty tax hikes in Cook County and the state.

Yes, there was much talk about painful choices, and while the board did cut $1 million in expenses, and has moderately improved its budgeting, the choices must not be painful, they must be easy by now since they have raised taxes significantly for the last several years. The village president again complained that single family homes comprise 90% of our tax base, so our sales tax revenues are limited by our commercial properties. What does he want, strip malls and gambling casinos? Even with the slow housing market we have some of the highest priced real estate in the country and the village board can't live within its means? They want the tooth fairy.

Mayor Daley got in trouble for raising taxes by 10% after 11 years.

Showing even more common sense, in a recent budget meeting covered by the Tribune, Wilmette trustees signaled a rollback in the special discount given to a favored few who owned expensive green cars. The discount passed some months ago but figured in voter discontent, as two incumbents were swept out of office last spring--one forcibly at the polls and one choosing to retire after one term. Tribune story:

Just 509 cars of the 18,908 vehicles registered in Wilmette posted EPA ratings high enough to merit the discount. The ordinance also triggered a spate of phone calls from residents inquiring about the program, 10 additional hours of office visits and 179 applications returned because local car owners who thought they qualified for the discount, in fact, did not. Passing the state emissions test alone does not suffice, village employees told 229 residents who mistook the distinction, official records show.

And so those elite star-bellied sneech smart car owners will be back to having only their own considerable moral vanity as their reward. And presumably better gas mileage, which should be payment enough.

Supporters of the rollback pointed out the fact that this was a user fee for road maintenance, and green cars beat up the roads just as much as other cars. But the rollback did not occur without a fight from at least one PC priestess on the board, who did not consider the regressive and punitive nature of the higher tax on seniors with limited income and older cars, and car-pooling families. Rather, she expressed considerable angst, going on for a considerable length of time, about the effect on the Wilmette brand...

I am deeply concerned about sending the wrong message today. If you look at how much money it takes, and how much time and effort and all of that to develop an image, and develop an appropriate image that conveys what we stand for, it is a hard thing. Brand image is incredibly hard. And it is incredibly easy to destroy. You know, it could take you years to get somewhere and if you do one thing wrong that is looked at out there and it's gone! [source: my transcript of taped village board meeting of 11/27, Trustee Watt.]

Oh no! Will life end as we know it in Wilmette?!! Will license fees define us forever?! (And as far as image, Wilmette ranks No. 7 in Business Week's best places to raise a family. Cost of living was a component. Making a practice of surcharges to families can only be a detriment to our image.) But of course there's more from Trustee Watt:

And if you looked at some of the comments in the Chicago Tribune article from last week there were comments [note: link here] about--well these people should fix their streets--well in fact we have, and we have over many years. But the fact that our streets were in bad condition 5,6,7 years ago, that's still haunting us, because someone from St. Louis drove through Wilmette 6 years ago and felt the streets were in bad condition. They haven't been back, but their image of Wilmette hasn't changed. And I am deeply concerned with rolling this back...what does that do to our image...

So that's one thing. Secondly there's been a lot of discussion around well you don't need a monetary incentive, you could do something else to distinguish these cars, give them a different sticker, and I totally agree with that, that could certainly be done and it would accomplish the same goals, the goal being education. The goal was never to compensate someone for buying a clean car, it was to educate people that these cars were out there and help them identify cars that would work for them. So yes, we could do something that wasn't a financial incentive but gave them some form of gold star in effect. The trouble with that is, I haven't figured out how to do that...

I suggest consulting your Dr. Seuss--it's all right there, a star-bellied sneech machine. Maybe the library could stock up on a few more copies as a low cost educational move. Ah yes, we need to be educated. This, in one of the most educated zip codes in the country. As I've said before, politicians around here often tell their constituents how smart they are--but then they treat us as if we needed a dose of Dr. Seuss at bedtime. Nanny-state intrusion strikes again.

I can share the PC priestess' disdain for the opinion of someone from St. Louis (no offense Gateway City), but what about the opinions of your own residents? What about the people who actually live here and pay taxes? Here's another comment about the article, this one from a citizen of Wilmette:

Some of our Village Trustees would have us believe that so-called do-good motives are a substitute for performance. Thus, the Village was left unprotected and many homes flooded because these same Trustees failed to provide backup electrical service for sewer lift stations that failed in the August storm. In short, we need to elect some new Trustees who have a more relevant set of priorities.

And why should we have to pay to be preached at? You know what, it's not your money. Put out your own local oracle shingle on your own dime, on your own time. Maybe you could start a blog. It's a free country. For now.

As other trustees noted, there is no dispute that promoting energy efficient concepts in society is fine, but the fee differential was punitive, parity is appropriate, and the emphasis needs to be on the basic services people want. There is nothing to preclude trustees from personally advocating for this issue, but it does not need to be a function of government. And Wilmette's image will be neither harmed nor enhanced by the passage or repeal of this ordinance.

One trustee added that there are many other aspects of society where we would like people to behave differently, but we don't subsidize them--breast cancer awareness for one.

The village president, who voted with the 5-2 majority to roll back the discount, pointed out conservation measures the village had initiated. Wilmette Life story here.

So we'll applaud the progress, but let's continue a common sense, back to basics approach please. And ask our public officials to be deeply concerned...about our concerns.