ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst officials on Monday mentioned the possibility of a property tax increase to pay for a new police station.
“Property taxes is the elephant in the room for this,” Alderwoman Noel Talluto said during a meeting of the City Council’s finance committee. “It may be part of the solution that we would recommend.”
As a rule of thumb, the average taxpayer could see an increase of $55 a year for every $1 million in annual debt service, according to the city. The city now expects debt service to amount to $3 million a year over two decades – an impact of $165 a year for the average taxpayer.
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Officials said they have not settled on a way to pay for the police station, with the preferred option costing $46 million.
Elmhurst Alderwoman Noel Talluto mentions the possibility of a property tax increase Monday for a new police station. Next to her is Alderman Chris Jensen, who said the current station has many problems. (David Giuliani/Patch)
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One big hurdle for the city is persuading the public that a new police station is needed. Many see the 34-year-old building at 125 E. First St. is beautiful. But officials say the structure has many problems.
Over the winter, the council’s public safety committee favored the $46 million option, building anew on the current site. Members figured a renovation would not be a good deal for taxpayers.
Among the issues are the building’s pillars, which suffer from an “original construction error,” Police Chief Michael McLean told the committee. The bolts in the pillars were left tight when they should have been loosened to let the pillars move with the inevitable settling of the building, he said.
The station’s sally port, the area where prisoners are taken in and out, is a safety problem, the chief said. The public cuts through there, and people can watch prisoner movements from the next-door Schiller parking deck, he said.
A study shows that Elmhurst’s police station is far smaller than those in other area towns when measuring square footage per officer.
McLean said the police station is in a good spot – in the “dead center” of town. He advised against moving different functions off-site.
“You could have records (staff) in an off-site building, but they’re not going to interact with the rest of the department,” he said.
Alderman Chris Jensen said a lot of residents say the station looks great from the outside. But he said the building contains many operational deficiencies and structural issues.
Talluto, who heads the finance committee, asked the city’s staff to provide options for paying for the station. Such information could come as early as next month.
Officials have been discussing the possibility of a new station off and on for the last six years.
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