'Bottomless Purses'? Possible Elmhurst Tax Hike Protested

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In 2018, local voters passed a $168.5 million referendum for the school district, increasing property taxes.

The city, parks and schools are run by separately elected boards. Wolf said she wished the taxing bodies would coordinate their efforts in seeking increases.

“You cater to the younger generation buying million-plus homes, two salaries. They can afford it,” Wolf said.

Like others, Wolf questioned the need for a new police station.

However, officials say the 34-year-old building suffers from security problems. They argue it was designed poorly.

During Monday’s public comments, other residents, including real estate agents, also spoke up.

Real estate agent Joyce Okal said people moved to Elmhurst because it was a solid community with a mix of people.

But she said that’s changed. With rising taxes, she said, “you’re forcing people out and not letting anyone young in.”

“There’s nothing wrong with this police station,” Okal said.

Michael Marchese, a third-generation Elmhurst resident, said he supported the police and was not a “blue-haired liberal” who belonged to the defund-the-police movement.

Still, he said that if the city needed a new police station, “there has got to be another way to do it.”

He said he pays $8,000 a year in property taxes.

“C’mon, guys,” Marchese told the committee. “We’re making the most money we’ve ever earned, and we’re barely getting by.”

In response to the residents, Alderwoman Noel Talluto, who heads the finance committee, noted the taxing bodies are separate.

“The park district referendum is weighing heavily on my mind these days,” she said. “It’s not something we can control, but it’s affecting every taxpayer in Elmhurst. We don’t have the authority to tell other taxing bodies what to do.”

She also said the water rate hike earlier this year came with a discount for low-income senior citizens.

Okal asked Talluto, “Basically, you have made up your mind on the police station. Basically, it’s a done deal.”

Talluto said that was not the case, to which Okal responded, “I disagree.”

Okal brought up the proposed new train station, which is estimated to cost $47 million. She asked whether it was a done deal.

Talluto replied that it was closer to being a done deal because of federal grants and already completed design work.

The city expected federal and other grants to pay for 80 percent of the project, with money from a local tax increment finance district covering much of the rest.

As for the police station, Mayor Scott Levin said the city needed a new one. He said it was either the oldest or second oldest in DuPage County.

He also referred to a study showing that Elmhurst’s station had far fewer square feet per officer than others in the county.

Officials said the building has been without air conditioning for eight years. From spring through fall, the city rents a chiller and connects it to the station’s pipes.

Levin said he saw a new police station as an officer recruitment tool. Prospective officers, he said, may be less inclined to join a police department with a rundown station.

At the same time, Levin said he understood why people opposed building a new police station because the current one looks nice on the outside.

Years ago, before he joined city government, Levin said he thought Elmhurst was wrong to get rid of a fire station.

He said he later found he was incorrect. The station was poorly designed for a modern fire department, he said.

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