Woodstock sales tax hike wins City Council approval

Renovations at the Woodstock Recreation Center are set to begin later this year, paid for via a bond sale financed by a 0.25% sales tax increase approved by the City Council this week.

After a public hearing on the tax increase – which is allowed without voter approval because of the city’s home-rule status – the Woodstock City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the additional sales tax, as well as an upcoming bond sale to pay for part of the $9.3 million renovation.

The change will bring the total sales tax rate that shoppers in Woodstock will pay to 8.5% when the increase in the local tax goes into effect Jan. 1.

“A quarter-point increase would raise enough money for a $9 million project and knock out some other critical infrastructure needs” in the city, Mayor Mike Turner said as he laid out reasons the council was considering the new tax. “I still think the total tax we pay is outrageous, but we work to keep it reasonable. We do not want to raise property taxes to pay for the rec center.”

The 35-year-old recreation center on Lake Avenue also received a $2.79 million Illinois Department of Natural Resources grant, Turner said. He noted that another $2 million was set aside when the city considered purchasing the Prairie View Apartment’s recreation facility as a replacement.

A total of 17 residents in attendance spoke to the board during the public hearing portion of the meeting, several of whom said they were more in favor of it after hearing Turner’s explanation for the center’s need.

The recreation center “is in a sad state,” the mayor said, with mandated repairs including air-handling issues. Gutting and rebuilding the interior “saves us a bunch of money” versus tearing down and rebuilding, Turner said.

On a $100 purchase, the ¼-cent tax adds 25 cents to the bill, Turner said. The tax is not applied to vehicle purchases or to groceries. The Woodstock City Council also has approved a resolution to continue collecting the local grocery sales tax.

Once it is closed for reconstruction in August, the center will be unavailable for 12 to 18 months, Parks and Recreation Director Mark Pentecost said. The rec center will move operations to the Woodstock Assembly of God church building while renovations take place.

A corresponding $22.5 million bond sale will fund more than just the rec center work, City Manager Roscoe Stelford said. It also will help pay for Environmental Protection Agency-mandated improvements at the wastewater treatment plan and road construction.

The new sales tax – increasing Woodstock’s total home-rule tax to 1.25% – only will fund the recreation center’s bond repayment. The water and sewer rates will pay off the wastewater treatment plant work.

“By going out for a larger bond issue, we can wrap them altogether and lower the cost of the bond package,” Turner said.

Stelford expects that the bond sale will occur in the fall, with an interest rate at about 4% over its 20-year term.

The council discussed whether to include a sunset clause on the new sales tax, and verbiage suggesting that was included in the final motion. However, it is up to a future City Council to vote to keep or do away with the tax when the bonds are due to be paid off in 20 years, Turner said.

“I can’t guarantee a future administration would remember that ... 20 years from now,” Stelford said.