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Evanston voters will be asked in March whether the Town Board should pursue efforts to dissolve township government and have its functions taken over by the City of Evanston. How do you plan to vote?

Not sure? There’ll be an information session about the question tonight at the Civic Center.

Bill Smith is the editor and publisher of Evanston Now.

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5 Comments

  1. Dissolve the township

    Enquiring minds want to dissolve the township.  There is no need for this additional layer of government.

  2. Ballot Question of Township Dissolution

    I hope that voters are aware that this is an advisory referendum question. Actual dissolution does not automatically occur as a result of this ballot item. It's primary purpose is to inform the Town Board (i.e., the Mayor and City Council) of the wishes of Evanston voters whether to pursue the process or not.

    Despite the proclaimed advantages, the process is not simple. The legal aspects of township dissolution have conflicting directions to be resolved before any action can be legally taken. If it can happen at all, it seems that actual dissolution of Evanston Township remains far off in the future.

    I'm not against saving money and improving government efficiency.  But for me, the real question being answered by this referendum item is, “It this a high enough priority for our elected City officials and City staff to continue devoting time and effort toward this purpose?”  We will all decide this together on March 20.

    1. High Priority Item: Eliminate the Township

      If the City of Evanston can deliver the same services and the same quality of services to those in need and save $300,000 – $400,000 per year, this should be a high priority item for the taxpayers of Evanston.

      Why keep duplicative services and pay extra money? Who has extra money to spend? Our community is going to be facing ever increasing taxes and lower services for the forseeable future.

      There are a number of structural challenges in our 3 primary local governmental bodies that will put upward pressure on taxes notably rising health care costs, higher pension expenses, and higher wage growth (remember both D65 & D202 are going to be renegotiating contracts this year).

      In the midst of upward taxes how can we not capitalize on each and every opportunity to save money? Has anyone noticed that unemployment and underemployment remain an issue for many people in our community?

      I for one would like to have my elected officials think about spending my money like it was their money. Maybe they'd think twice before signing the check. Maybe they'd look for other cost saving opportunities.

      Cut the legal BS, and pass the law that Senator Schoenberg is sponsoring to streamline this Township issue. Enough is enough.

  3. If the Township Assessor is so good…

    then why did the last assessed valuation reflect home prices that are totally out of line with the reality of the market ?

    why did the township assessor fight [and allow in the first place] this obvious major error which probably cost some owners dearly—and maybe over the edge into foreclosure.

    If the argument is made 'everyone's rate went up so the share of needed revenue stays the same'—well I have some ocean front property in Nevada to sell.  Not all county areas were re-assessed at the same time, actual values did not drop uniformly [a few might have really gone up–but very few] and it just gives the government an excuse to push 'what they say they need' up higher and higher.

    The county assessor clearly is the first one to do this to us, but where was the township assessor ???

  4. upcoming referendum on dissolving township

    one question that has been posed by a very knowledgeable person:  what happens to the money that is allocated on our tax bill for the township?  does it automatically go to the city to provide the former township services? does it vanish?  will it be the same, or if the $300-400k savings really accrue, will it go down? this is a question that presumably will be answered as we go through the process, assuming the vote on the referendum is yes, which i happen to support.

    i have only heard of taxes going down in skokie, but one can dream, can't one?

     

    mary brugliera

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