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Board votes to put $10 million bond referendum on fall ballot

Flossmoor voters this fall will decide whether the village can issue $10 million in bonds for local street repairs and measures to prevent flooding in parts of town where it has become increasingly common. Village board members Monday unanimously approved the referendum question that will be on the November 3 ballot.

Flossmoor voters this fall will decide whether the village can issue $10 million in bonds for local street repairs and measures to prevent flooding in parts of town where it has become increasingly common.

Village board members Monday unanimously approved the referendum question that will be on the November 3 ballot. Board members decided two weeks ago to ask for a general obligation bond issue that could be used to address Flossmoor’s two biggest infrastructure problems.

All six village trustees voted in favor of placing the question on the fall ballot and Mayor Paul Braun – who normally only votes when there are ties on board motions – added his assent to the referendum question.

Trustee Perry Hoag said the village is taking an important step in seeking the referendum.

“There are defining moments that come before this board every decade or so,” Hoag said. Recent examples, he said, are the village’s decision to build a new library, to repair defective water mains and to host Flossmoor Fest.

The upcoming bond issue vote “falls into this category,” Hoag said.

“It is one of those events that will assure future generations of success in Flossmoor,” he said.

Braun said the village will undertake a robust educational campaign so that Flossmoor residents have a clear idea on what the referendum vote means to the village. He stressed that village board members are not allowed to officially take sides on the referendum but can let residents know why the bond issue question was placed on the ballot.

Here the question that will appear on the November ballot:

“Shall the Village of Flossmoor, Cook County, Illinois, issue General Obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $10,000,000, said bonds bearing interest at not to exceed the rate of 9.00% per annum, for the purpose of paying the costs of the following infrastructure improvements throughout the Village: street reconstruction, street resurfacing and sidewalk improvements, and storm sewer system improvements including those related to the Flossmoor Road viaduct, and expenses related thereto?”

Village officials were quick to point out that the interest rate for the bonds is unlikely to be anywhere near 9%. Village Manager Bridget Wachtel said that 9% is the maximum permitted by law, adding that posting the maximum interest rate on the referendum question is legally required.

Flossmoor Finance Director Scott Bordui told the HF Chronicle that there’s a good chance that the interest rate on the bonds will be between 3% and 4%. Interest rates are currently historically low and Flossmoor has an excellent bond rating.

The bonds would be financed by Flossmoor’s property tax levy and paid off in 20 years. The timing of the bond issue is largely based on the upcoming retirement of $8 million in bonds that were used to build the new Flossmoor Public Library. Those bonds will be taken off the books in early 2021. Flossmoor officials say the retirement of the library bonds means that residents are likely to see minimal change in the village’s share of property tax bills if the November referendum is successful.  

If the bonds are approved, it’s likely that Flossmoor will issue the debt in multiple issues in several years, Wachtel said. The village will have five years to issue all the bonds. That way, village officials will have a better idea on how the money will be best used.

Flossmoor officials have known for the last three years that a bond issue referendum was a possibility in 2020. In 2017, a study of Flossmoor’s streets indicated that many were in bad need of repair. Revenues from the state’s Motor Fuel Tax program were falling short of what was needed to repave the village’s worst streets and money from Flossmoor’s general fund has been diverted for some necessary repairs.

Flooding in Flossmoor has emerged as a serious issue in the past couple of years, with some neighborhoods repeatedly taking on water after intense storms became a more common occurrence. Downtown Flossmoor was hit hard by flooding last September and village officials are taking steps to fix the Flossmoor Road viaduct, a chokepoint for high water on an all-too regular basis.

Flossmoor has applied for grants that could be used to correct the flooding problem at the viaduct and in upstream tributary areas like Heather Hill and Old Flossmoor. It is possible that grants could be used for much of the work at the viaduct — which could cost as much as $6.5 million — so that the bulk of the bond money can be used to repair streets during a multi-year project.

If the referendum is successful, construction on the street improvements could begin as early as 2021. Work on the stormwater projects would begin as soon as more is known about grant funding and that could also be as soon as 2021.

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