Village of
Westchester NOVEMBER, 2020
POLICE DEPARTMENT PUBLIC WORKS
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FIRE DEPARTMENT
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LIBRARY
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SCHOOL DISTRICT
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SCOUTS
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WPTC
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Westchester Capital Improvement Bond Referendum The Village of Westchester was founded in 1926 and after 94 years, things don’t work as well as they used to. The water mains, pipes, sewers, streets, curbs, street lights, traffic signals, bridges and flood retention systems that make up the basic infrastructure of our village are beginning to exceed their original predicted engineering lifespan and need to be replaced or repaired. Sometimes it’s 20 years, sometimes it’s 50 years and sometimes it’s 75 years, but eventually, the underlying structures that make our village safe and secure need to be renovated or completely reconstructed. Just like an old house, if it is not properly maintained it becomes a health and safety hazard that is ultimately uninhabitable. To address the decline in the aging infrastructure of the Village of Westchester has come up with a comprehensive plan that will address these concerns. The plan will address 3 major areas of our infrastructure: 1-Streets – 95% of our streets will have a “good” or “very good” rating after these projects. 2-Water Main/Sanitary Lines/ Residential Flood Mitigation – The water mains in the Village were put in place in some areas of town close to 100 years ago. We need to start replacing or repairing these water mains. The sanitary lines as well will need to be addressed and this plan repairs almost half of the sanitary lines in town. The residential flood mitigation program that the Village has had for years will be funded at a much higher level so that we can encourage residents to take steps to help mitigate flooding. 3 – Alley’s – we have dedicated 10% of this project list to repair and replace our alley ways which have been neglected for many years. This plan will put the Village on a course of proactive maintenance which can be sustained with our current funding
levels after the plan is completed. The cost of the plan would be approximately $42 million which equates to approximately $249 per year for a $250,000 home in Westchester. A capital improvement bond issue question has been placed at the end of the November 3, 2020 Presidential election ballot for Westchester residents to decide whether they want to begin funding the replacement and repair of Westchester’s infrastructure beginning in 2021. The question will read: “Shall bonds in an amount not to exceed $42,000,000 be issued by the Village of Westchester, Cook County, Illinois, for the purpose of paying costs of street, alley, sewer and related improvements throughout the Village and expenses incidental thereto, said bonds bearing interest at a rate not to exceed 5% per annum?” The Village of Westchester cannot by law advocate for or against any bond issue, but instead provides the facts listed above for village residents to make the determination on the merits of the issue. Please take the time to review the list of proposed projects for the usage of the proposed bond funds and make your informed decision by voting on or before November 3rd. If the bond referendum is approved by voters, the Village would act to obtain the lowest possible market interest rate and the bonds would be repaid 20 years from the dates of the issuance of the bonds. Interest rates are at historically low levels which translates into savings for residents. One of the questions many of you may have is what we would get for $42 million. Well we have put together a complete detailed list of all 249 proposed projects to be funded by the bond issue from 2021 through 2025 which is included on the
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