Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Paying for infrastructure – Riverside-Brookfield Landmark

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In anticipation of a bold referendum on the November ballot, Riverside’s village board amended the village code in mid-August to create a set-aside from local property tax revenues to pay for future investments in the village’s streets, sewers and other infrastructure. 

The worthy goal here is to wean the village from issuing expensive bonds to endlessly pay for the perpetual infrastructure upgrades a 150-year-old village needs. So instead of paying interest on those bonds, Riverside would self-fund the improvements from its infrastructure-designated portion of property taxes. That should lead to more funds to put directly into necessary improvements and no funds being used to pay the interest on municipal bonds.

If voters approve the referendum in November, it will set this process in motion. While the vote is to approve a one-time hike in property taxes, it is timed with the final bond debt payments. The plan, as laid out by the village, is no increase in the taxes villagers will pay.

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