Libertyville Voters Approve Issuing $20 Million Bonds

Nearly 60 percent of Libertyville voters on Tuesday approved a $20 million bond issue to fix the village’s deteriorating roads. Of the 4,437 who cast ballots, 2,649 voted "yes."

 “I’m happy residents have given us the opportunity to work and keep the community as it is,” Mayor Terry Weppler said. “A lot of people that were against the bond issue told me they weren’t against fixing roads but that they couldn’t afford their property tax going up.”

For a home with a market value of $300,000, the village anticipates that the referendum would add a maximum of $11.32 per month, or $135.93 per year, to residents’ property tax bill, according to village documents.

The village plans to stagger the $20 million bond issue into four $5 million bond issues and will rehabilitate Libertyville-maintained roads over a five-year period.

The Public Works Department estimates that more than 70 percent of Libertyville-maintained roads are below average.

The actual construction won’t start until spring 2013.

The village first must sell the bonds and start on engineering work, Weppler said.

The cost to repair a road ranges from about $650,000 per mile for a pavement overlay to approximately $1.85 million per mile for a full reconstruction. Significant cost savings can be achieved by making repairs to roads before they deteriorate to the point where full construction is required, according to village documents.

A five-year road rehabilitation plan is posted on the village’s website.

“Next spring we hope to hit the ground running and get the roadwork done,” Weppler said.