Village of Manhattan Proposes Real Estate Transfer Tax

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1 VILLAGE NEWS 245 S. State Street Manhattan, IL Phone (815) Fax (815) FALL 2006 Village of Manhattan Proposes Real Estate Transfer Tax The Village is committed to the idea that all new development pay its fair share. We believe current residents should not be burdened by additional taxes to pay for the improvements and services necessary to serve this growth. Therefore, the Village President and the Board has proposed a referendum on the November 7, 2006 ballot that will ask the voters of Manhattan to consider a Real Estate Transfer Tax. Real Estate Transfer Tax Facts: a $200,000 property would only be charged $1,000. Keep in mind that any transaction involving a government body, non-profit organization (church, society, etc.), school, or transfer of property where money does not physically change hands (from parents to children as the result of a will) is exempt from the tax. Does the Village have specific plans for the Real Estate Transfer Tax money? Yes, the Village Board plans to use the money for the following projects: What is a Real Estate Transfer Tax? A Real Estate Transfer Tax is a tax on the sale of all real estate property within the Village. The tax is paid at closing by the buyer. How will the tax affect me? The Village is asking for a buyer based tax. That means that the buyer of your property pays the tax, not you, the seller. By ordinance, current property owners who sell their primary residence and purchase another primary residence within the town limits will not pay the tax. (Unfortunately, election laws prohibit this language from appearing on the ballot). The Village Board feels this is a way to reward current property owners and encourage them to stay in town. How much is the tax? The Village is asking for $5.00 per $1,000 of sales price. For example, the buyer of 1) Market and promote our town to commercial, industrial and retail developers. Money will be used to create brochures, attend relevant trade shows, write press releases, prepare a professional power point presentation and more. 2) Create a rainy day fund to help pay for the bonds used to remodel our sewer plant, and install new sewer and water lines on the north side of town. A percentage of the Transfer Tax will be placed into a savings account that will only be touched if the economy slows down and we need it to make bond payments. In a worst case scenario, this rainy day fund will hopefully prevent us from having to raise property taxes to make these bond payments if the economy hits a rough spell. 3) Help pay for a future Village Hall. In Continued on page 4

2 Village President William Borgo Village Board of Trustees David Beemsterboer Patrick Forsythe David Gallagher Michael Naughton John Phelan Jeffrey Wolfe Village Clerk Mattie Becker Marian Gibson, Village Administrator Tim Barker, Chief of Police Kevin Sing, Finance Director Marc Nelson, Planning Coordinator Thomas Pahnke, Building Commissioner Bill Liszka, Superintendent Public Works Dan Chellios, Public Improvement Coordinator Village Hall Hours Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. Saturdays 9:00 a.m. 12:00 noon Manhattan Fire District Manhattan Police Park District Library Wilson Creek Elem. School Anna McDonald Grade School Manhattan Junior High Lincoln-Way Central H.S Manhattan Public Works Manhattan Township Chamber of Commerce Cable TV Where s The Mayor Been? JULY 10 Illiana Expressway Summit organized by U.S. Congressman Jerry Weller 11 Meeting with Will County Executive Larry Walsh and personal aide to U.S. Senator Barack Obama regarding Manhattan s traffic, sewer & water and post office issues 31 Meeting with IDOT regarding financing and construction update on I-355 AUGUST 11 Manhattan Chamber of commerce golf outing 14 Grand Opening ceremony for new First Bank of Manhattan facility at intersection of Route 52 and Foxford Drive 15 Will County Center for Economic Development presentation regarding regional water issues 19 Grand Opening ceremony for Manhattan School District's new Wilson Creek Elementary School 23 Prairie Parklands presentation regarding the environmental restoration of Manhattan Creek SEPTEMBER 18 Manhattan Park District s Round Barn presentation and tour 21 Will County Governmental League & South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association Meeting 22 Meet with U.S. Senator Barack Obama to discuss local government issues with elected officials in Will County 29 to 31 Illinois Municipal League convention in Chicago Will County Sheriff Paul J. Kaupas Alert System To receive a Quarterly Newsletter, Special Event and Most Wanted information, you may sign up for the Will County Alert System. To sign up for the alert system you must have a valid address. Simply go to to begin filling out your subscription form. After signing up with the alert system, you will receive an activation . Please click on this to activate your account with the Will County Sheriff's Office. If your account is not activated within one month you will be removed from the list. You may unsubscribe and change your preferences at any time by clicking on the link which will appear at the bottom of the page. 2

3 Manhattan Hires New Village Administrator Message from the Mayor: After reviewing nearly 30 Village Administrator candidates, the Manhattan village board and I are proud to announce that Marian Gibson has accepted the position effective October 9, Gibson, who served as Romeoville s Village Manager during some of its most explosive growth, will bring 15 years worth of administrative experience and nearly 30 years of economic development experience to Manhattan. We are extremely excited to bring Marian Gibson to our ever evolving community. With Gibson joining our town we are getting the best of both worlds. We are getting an outstanding administrative professional with extensive experience, plus a person with a strong background in economic development. We are fortunate to have her experience during Manhattan s transition from a rural town to a vibrant, growing community. As Manhattan s new Administrator she will be responsible for managing commercial and residential development, overseeing future infrastructure projects, creating/updating ordinances, and overseeing day-to-day operations of the village administration, police department and public works. As Romeoville s Village Manager, Gibson saw the town s population grow from 33,861 to approximately 38,000, in only three years. Throughout this growth spurt, she was responsible for supervising seven departments including fire, police, community development, parks, administration, public works and finance. She also upgraded commercial design standards, increased professional standards for all staff positions, coordinated research and design of a new village hall, negotiated major commercial, industrial and retail developments, and oversaw millions of dollars worth of infrastructure improvements. In addition to her administration background, Gibson has a strong economic development background. Her previous employment includes Vice President of Economic Development for the Will County Center for Economic Development and Economic Development and Grants Coordinator for Will County. She was also a member of the Will County Regional Planning Commission. Gibson has a Master of Arts Degree in Public Administration from Northern Illinois University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Psychology from Lewis University. She is continually expanding her professional skills by participating in professional organizations such as: International City/County Management Association, Will County Managers and Administrators (President from 1992 to present) and Chicago Metro Managers Association. To have a person like Marian Gibson in our corner, who has Been There and Done That when dealing with future growth issues and negotiating with big box retailers will definitely be an asset to our citizens and the village board. We look forward to benefiting from her experiences. Halloween October 31, 2006 Trick or Treat Hours: 3:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. 3

4 Transfer Tax, from page 1 an effort to keep up with our residential growth, we believe we will need to build a larger Village Hall. Currently, we have no space for future employees within our existing facilities; in fact, the mayor gave up his office so that other employees could use it. Thus with our eyes set for the future, we would like to continue saving money for the construction of a new Village Hall. 4) Temporarily pay for the salaries of new employees needed to accommodate our residential growth. From the time new citizens move into Manhattan, we must immediately provide them with services. However, we do not receive money from their property taxes to pay for these services for at least a year or more. Thus this Transfer Tax will help pay the salaries for new police officers to patrol our town and employees to keep our streets plowed in the winter, until the property tax money becomes available. Consider this: If the Village had a Real Estate Transfer Tax since the year 2000, it would have already generated approximately $1,000,000. Common Myths for a Real Estate Transfer Tax: A Real Estate Transfer Tax will make your property harder to sell. FALSE. There is no data available to substantiate this claim. In fact some of the fastest growing communities in Illinois have a Real Estate Transfer Tax. There are at least 67 towns, village, or cities in Illinois that have a real estate transfer tax. Joliet, Aurora, Bolingbrook, Naperville, Romeoville, University Park, and Channahon are just some of the local towns that have a real estate transfer tax. Holiday Schedule The Village Hall will be closed for the following holidays: Veteran s Day: November 10th Thanksgiving: November 23rd & 24th Christmas: December 22nd & 25th New Years: December 29th and January 1st 2007 Once the Real Estate Transfer tax is approved, the Village can change the rate. FALSE. According to Illinois law, the only way to increase the tax rate is to ask the voters for approval. The Real Estate Transfer Tax is applicable to only home sales. FALSE. The tax would be required on all types of property. On November 7, 2006 please remember the information we have provided. If you have any additional questions, do not hesitate to contact the Village Hall at or us at ksing@villageofmanhattan.org. 4

5 Water Main Flushing The Village of Manhattan Public Works Department will be flushing fire hydrants during the week of October 9th through October 13th. The purpose of flushing is to remove sediment and mineral deposits that settle on the bottom of water mains and to verify proper operation of hydrants. Discolored water can be drawn into homes or businesses if water is used during or immediately after area water mains are flushed. The discolored water results from naturally occurring minerals that will be dislodged during flushing. This mineralized water is not harmful to drink, but could cause laundry stains. During this week you should check to ensure that your water is clear before doing any laundry. If you should have any questions or concerns about the water main flushing, please feel free to call the village hall at and leave a message for Bill Liszka, Utilities Superintendent and he will respond to your concerns. Thank you for your cooperation during this necessary inconvenience. Yard waste season runs from April 1st through November 30th of each year. Yard waste must be placed in either a kraft-type paper bag or in a standard refuse container that is no larger than 32 gallons in size and is clearly marked with the YARD WASTE ONLY Sticker. The stickers are free to all Village residents and are available at the Village Hall. Tree branches, brush, and limbs should be cut into four-foot Yard Waste Snow Removal No Parking lengths and bundled with string and twine. Each bundle should weigh no more than 50 pounds. Unbundled brush will not be collected. Christmas trees will be picked up after the holidays. With inclement weather soon upon us, we would like to remind residents that no snow or slush removed from private property by way of shoveling, plowing, or blowing, is allowed to be deposited onto any village street. Please help keep our streets free from ice and snow during the upcoming months. No Parking after 2 snowfall or 1 ice build-up on any street. No Parking along curbed streets from November 1st through March 15th between 1:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. Minimum $50 fine. We also want to remind everyone that cars are not to be parked on sidewalks as well. Do not allow children to play or tunnel in roadside snow banks. Plow trucks may not be able to see the children or stop in time. 5

6 Vehicle Stickers go on sale at the Village Hall after December 15th. These stickers must be displayed no later than February 15th, New residents have 30 days from the date of occupancy to purchase their stickers. If you should purchase a new vehicle, you will have 30 days Vehicle License from the date you purchased your vehicle to display a new sticker. Passenger Cars $10.00 Trucks $15.00 Trucks over 1 ton $20.00 Motorcycles $ 8.00 Senior Citizens $ 1.00 (one per household 65 and over) Village of Manhattan 245 S. State Street Manhattan, IL PRST STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit #18 Manhattan, IL POSTAL CUSTOMER 60442