May, 1999

The Village of Tower Lakes today faces immense pressures from continuing growth in Lake County. Announcements of new roads and subdivisions in the area are commonplace. Barrington area residents decry the "deterioration in quality of life". This has put a premium on maintaining a village which is inherently attractive yet remains "market competitive" in attracting new residents and retaining current homeowners.

The Ad Hoc Committee (AHC) was formed in the fall of 1997 as an outgrowth of the Tower Lakes survey conducted in 1996. The AHC's charter was to gather and analyze information about issues facing Tower Lakes and surrounding areas and create a report for the Plan Commission's use in preparing the Comprehensive Plan, last updated in 1977. The AHC was also challenged to make recommendations as to what needs to be done today to guide the Village's future direction.

Much information is available about the issues facing Tower Lakes, thanks to the input from the Village's residents in identifying these through the survey. In general, Tower Lakers are pleased with the community in which they live and would like to see the quality of life in Tower Lakes remain the same. However, to "remain the same" will require a concerted effort to address the issues which continue to impact the Village. Below is a summary of these issues.

Tower Lakes is providing many of the same services as much larger communities in Lake County. Services currently being handled through the Village include police protection, Village Office with centralized recordkeeping, street maintenance, snowplowing, garbage collection, water service, tree maintenance and recycling. These services have been added and enhanced through the years because Tower Lakes residents had wanted them. This also means that Tower Lakes residents have consciously decided that these services are worth paying for in higher taxes and fees levied within the Village.

The Illinois tax cap is adversely affecting revenue generation

The State of Illinois' tax cap, instituted in 1991 on towns and villages, prohibits raising taxes by more than 2-1/2 to 3% annually. The result has been that revenue increases have barely kept up with inflation (the Consumer Price Index in the last five years has averaged 2.4% annually). The tax cap may make it difficult for the Village to make ends meet if inflation again increases. No additional sources of tax revenue, continuation of the present tax cap, and no reduction in services which residents enjoy today would result in a significant gap between expenses and revenues. Further, the Village does not have a substantial surplus fund to draw on to make up the difference in revenue shortfall, however a surplus has been generated the last few years.

The average Tower Lakes real estate tax bill in 1997 was approximately $6,000. Of the amount collected, the Village receives about 11% of that total, a percentage unlikely to change. The Village is restricted to levying against the property taxes collected by the County. In 1988 the Village levy was .737; in 1995 it was .682. a decrease of .055. The assessed valuation of the entire village increased by 65% during that same period from $25,736,350 to $42,461,823. While it may appear that the Village of Tower Lakes is raising taxes, in fact the Village tax base has risen, not the percentage of taxes collected by the town.

The majority of the taxes collected each year goes to the District 220 school system. Two scenarios are shown below to illustrate the allocation of tax revenues for a hypothetical $6,000 tax bill. The chart on the left has the $438 Special Service Area #2 assessment (a separate tax for water system improvements assessed on each home served by the water system for twenty years) included in the base $6,000 tax bill; the chart on the right shows the same tax bill with the SSA #2 amount added on top.

The Village is managing expenses as best as it can

The Village has also done a good job in facilitating intergovernmental arrangements for shared services to keep expenses for items like snowplowing as low as possible. The Cuba Township Highway Department is one such example as it has been contracted to handle the joint needs of several communities in the area for snow removal, ice control, a shared contract for refuse removal and sign maintenance. Other required services are handled by outside contractors for tree removal, landscaping, lighting, entry maintenance and grass cutting, and these are potential areas for service sharing as well.

Most Village revenues come from property taxes

By far, the largest contributor to the Village's budget, both in the past and today, is the portion of property taxes collected by Lake County and paid to Tower Lakes. This reliance on property taxes is unlikely to change in the future.

Our police protection is a valued resource

The residents of Tower Lakes have consistently given the Tower Lakes police department high marks for professionalism. There appears to be little, if any, disagreement that this is a wise investment in resident safety for which villagers gladly pay. In particular, residents appreciate regular house checks while on vacation. Tower Lakes' police costs are in the bottom ten of towns and villages in Northwest Lake and DuPage counties. In 1998, each household in Tower Lakes spent $367 on police protection - about one dollar per day. This contrasts with other villages in the area which are spending more on police protection as shown in the chart below:

In the future, it may be prudent to consider sharing police services among neighboring towns and unincorporated areas.

The last resident survey told us that Tower Lakes residents like the conveniences of a full-time police department, clean water, good drainage and paved roads. This has created a "floor" of service expectations which residents demand and expect. It appears certain that a reduction in these basics would not be welcomed by the residents of the Village. However, the cost of these services is destined to go up every year despite effective negotiating by the Village and pooling of buying power with surrounding towns.

Tower Lakes faces competition from neighboring communities

Neighboring communities in Lake, Cook and McHenry Counties offer like or better services for less taxes. For instance, a proposed mall in North Barrington/Hawthorne Woods would have the effect of reducing residents' current taxes by half or more with increased services. Tower Lakes may subsequently appear uncompetitive in attracting prospective home buyers to the Village. While it is important to note that Tower Lakes' unique setting does allow a small premium to be charged when selling a home, significantly higher taxes or reduced services would put the Village at a significant competitive disadvantage to neighboring communities. This, in turn, would have the effect of erasing the seller's premium and may depress real estate values.

Quality of life is important to the residents

The quality of life in Tower Lakes was acclaimed by residents in the last survey as "second to none". Residents cited the community closeness, TLIA activities, the lake, well-maintained properties, safe community, good recreation facilities, stable property values and general surroundings as definite positives and a strong influence on their decision to live here. It is imperative, in the opinion of the AHC, that this be preserved to the enjoyment of all residents as it is one of our most important assets.

The Village cannot grow

Tower Lakes is "boundary locked" and cannot expand easily unless the residents of an unincorporated area (e.g. Timberlake) pass a referendum wishing to join our town or a neighboring community invites us to merge with them. At the present time, Tower Lakes offers little in terms of assets or potential revenues to adjacent towns as an incentive to merge. Also, the available land for commercial or residential building is also extremely limited, so the opportunity for expanding the tax base through additional businesses or residences is not there.

Finally, the residents of Tower Lakes have indicated, through the survey, that acquiring additional acreage through annexation or merging the Village with another community is not overwhelmingly supported by the residents. Several open-ended responses pointed to a reluctance by residents to relinquish control over the Village's destiny.

Lake County is facing increased growth pressures

The residents of Tower Lakes have provided, through the 1996 survey, clear goals for the Village to accomplish within the next five to ten years:

The residents of the Village want community improvement projects finished quickly once they are started. The tradeoff is, of course, that to finish projects faster requires more resources. This means that the Village will have to prioritize, focus on only a few projects at a time, finish these, then move on to the next series of improvements.

Retain police protection

The residents of this community like the protection offered by their own police department and seem prepared to pay for this service. In the last survey, the Tower Lakes police department was ranked very high in terms of "consumer satisfaction" and many favorable comments were registered about the police. It appears in the best interest of the town and the people who live here to retain this valuable service as long as the price of this remains affordable to its residents.

Improve drainage in the community

The residents in the town have cited "poor drainage" as a concern, and this needs to be addressed in the future by the Village. While no one outstanding site was mentioned in the Village survey, the front entrance flooding during heavy rains and the areas near the tennis court appear to most affected. Again, this needs to be addressed in the future.

Keep the costs of operating the Village low

While the Village Board in office at the time of the survey received generally high marks for performance, the survey has indicated clearly that every possible means needs to be explored to keep the Village's operating expenses as low as possible.

Improve the water system

One of the most-mentioned negatives about the Village was the water system, which is currently being improved. It appears to the AHC that additional information about the state of water quality, which is routinely measured, should be published as one way of showing residents the Village is serious about water quality. This may also allay residents' concerns about the water system. Further, the AHC feels that the Village should continue with water system improvements and turn this historically negative aspect of the Village into a positive one.

Retain the character of the Village

Preserving the Village character appears to be high on the list of Village residents. The AHC feels that this can be accomplished through active participation in Barrington Area Council of Governments (BACOG) which has a strong influence on local change in the area. There are also county and state organizations which Tower Lakes residents should be urged to join as a means to represent Village interests.

The AHC also concurs with the survey results which cites residents' appreciation for the flora and fauna in the Village. The recognition that active forestry provides oxygen, shade, cooling moisture, noise reduction, animal habitats, and tranquility is a tribute to the residents of this community and provides clear "marching orders" to village planners to continue to develop this resource.

Improve the Roads

Village residents would like to see better roads in the community. This has become a problem of late with the improvements to the water system which has involved tearing up several key roadways. Based on the identified aversion residents appear to have to "bad roads", it may be better for the Village to spend more dollars up front to get a great paving job than going back later and repairing the roads through various patching and sealing techniques.

Acquire additional land if this is politically and economically sound

Though there is little land available for acquisition, the Village should not bar attempts to create alliances with other surrounding villages or communities if these acquisitions make political or economic sense. This AHC recommendation is based on our belief that the town borders in Lake County will soon be solidified and the next twenty years may be Tower Lakes' final opportunity to finalize its "land destiny". Occasionally, land parcels may become available. In this case, the Village may want to consider acquiring these as a buffer to control growth and protect our boundaries.

Communicate better about Village government

Tower Lakes needs to communicate to its residents how it is spending money in a way they can understand. It is the recommendation of the AHC that a comprehensive analysis of the budget be presented to Village residents in the Tower Lakes News prior to the budget approval process each year. This presentation would elaborate on how and where money will be spent and specifically would point out areas in which Tower Lakes is managing its limited funds in a superlative way. The AHC also suggests that Tower Lakes develop and maintain a web site for the use and reference of the residents to provide a ready means to access immediate information about Village doings.

To achieve the long term goals identified by the AHC and requested by Village residents will require the following:

Find additional revenue sources

Tower Lakes will need to find additional sources of revenue to cover expected increases in expenses just to keep the status quo. Possible revenue sources include:

This would amount to a "consumption tax" and would add $8.00 - $9.00 per month to the cost of home ownership.

Sell the water system once improvements are completed

Tower Lakes could consider the sale of the water system to an outside company, once the system is brought up to par. This could yield sufficient funds to retire the SSA#2 bond issue early and help relieve some of the tax burden from this assessment. The long-term cost and impact on water rates would need to be researched before a thoughtful decision could be made on this alternative.

Continue to explore merged services

Tower Lakes is not alone in its desire to share services, create joint operating arrangements, and "bulk buy" supplies and services, and negotiate for reduced prices from outside vendors. The goal of all of these is to reduce expenses through economies of scale. This needs to be explored for services such as: landscaping, police protection, building inspection, road repair and maintenance, utility purchases and supply purchases. In effect, a "co-operative" could be established under combined management for the purchase of the above items to the benefit of all surrounding villages and towns.

Work with other Illinois towns to have state government treat non-business villages differently in terms of tax allocation

Clearly, Tower Lakes is at a greater disadvantage in generating tax revenue than a town with commercial businesses. The State of Illinois needs to be approached with better ideas for revenue sharing and expense reduction for villages like Tower Lakes. Ideas to be considered include: changing the allocation of property taxes to favor smaller non-business towns, restricting unfunded mandates to those Villages which can afford it, and sharing sales tax dollars from where Tower Lakes residents shop.

The AHC recommends that Home Rule be investigated for the Village to better understand its advantages and disadvantages and the impact this will have on raising revenue and curtailing expenses. We need to know whether Tower Lakes would qualify for Home Rule and whether having the power to pass new taxes and to increase them without a referendum is to the Village and residents' advantage.

Explore home-based business

It would be possible to position the Village as "friendly" to home businesses by creating a development board that would assist individuals in setting up these types of firms. These businesses would pay a startup and on-going business tax as their contribution to the Village. The Village would, in turn, encourage these types of firms through advertising and Village support in line with the Village's Home Business Ordinance.

Keep residents informed

Tower Lakes currently publishes The Tower Lakes News, a four page newsletter on current events in the Village. This could be further enhanced by publishing the Village portion of the newsletter on the Internet. Tower Lakes' own web page would also allow more residents to access Village information.

Become more active in Lake County commissions

The Village of Tower Lakes, through its citizens, must be more active and vocal in any and all Lake County commissions or boards, e.g. BACOG, which rule on or regulate growth. This is the only way that Tower Lakes citizens can have their voices heard in controlling those factors which positively or negatively impact the Village.

Several alternatives were suggested by residents through the survey, but after analysis by the AHC they were not considered further. These are presented for information only.

Unincorporate the Village

Unincorporating the Village of Tower Lakes would save some taxes and increase others. The Lake County Sheriff would be used for police protection, Cuba Township would handle roads, etc. Though taxes would go down by 12% (the amount collected by Tower Lakes) other taxes would rise. It is likely that the quality of service would also be dramatically affected.

Aggressively pursue annexation opportunities with other villages

Though Tower Lakes residents indicated in the 1996 survey they were not generally in favor of this alternative, the Village could begin discussions with surrounding towns - North Barrington, Lake Barrington, Wauconda - to merge with these towns to decrease taxes and enhance services. While there have been feelers to other villages over the years, Tower Lakes does not bring a lot to the table in terms of more tax revenue or better services for surrounding communities.

Acquire other subdivisions

Tower Lakes could begin active discussions with surrounding unincorporated subdivisions to acquire them in order to increase our tax base and solidify our borders. The question remains if the revenues brought in from taxes will be sufficient to cover the expense of providing services to these residents. Residents of these communities would be asking "what does Tower Lakes have to offer me by joining them?, the same question Tower Lakers would be asking a neighboring village if it wanted to merge with Tower Lakes.

Reduce services further

It is possible to reduce services or delay Village improvements to reduce or spread operating costs. As determined by the last Village survey of residents, this is unacceptable to most people in the Village who want projects completed quickly (which costs more) and want expanded services from their Village.

Develop commercial properties

Commercial development could be an opportunity to generate additional funds for the Village, however, there is no land within the Village limits to build a facility of any kind at this time. Conversion of an existing residential parcel to commercial use would likely meet with resident disapproval.

Tower Lakes is a unique community with much to offer its residents. The Tower Lakes survey clearly indicated that residents wish to retain the character of the Village, the sense of community, and the natural beauty of their Village. The AHC believes that planning or improvement efforts must consider the balance between residents' desire to keep the Village "as is" and outside pressures from growth in the county.