McCaleb: Johnsburg residents pinching noses

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Something stinks in Johnsburg, and it’s not residents’ aging septic systems.

The stench is resonating from Village Hall. And it’s tied to village officials’ obsession with a sewer project that sticks local taxpayers with a huge new bill – $14,800 per household up front or $21,600 on property tax bills over 20 years.

The village board this month voted to appeal a judge’s ruling that effectively killed Special Service Area No. 23. The SSA was created by the village to pay for the $10 million sewer project that would connect homes in the service area – homes currently on septic systems – to the village’s relatively new wastewater treatment facility.

The decision to appeal was both sad and inconceivable. Sad because a court had ruled that a majority of village residents – i.e., the same people who in a representative democracy elect the board members to represent their interests – didn’t want the SSA or its cost. Inconceivable because the village already has spent more than $130,000 in taxpayer money trying to shove the SSA down the throats of its own people.

And that’s where things get, well, pungent.

The village seems unconcerned about racking up six figures’ worth of attorney fees to fight its own constituency. But it all of a sudden gets penny-conscious when it comes to filling out an application for federal stimulus money to help pay for the sewer project?

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency told us recently that Johnsburg is not eligible for stimulus money because it didn’t apply for any.

“We would love to get stimulus money,” Village President Ed Hettermann said last week. “[But] what are the chances of getting it if we’re going to spend money submitting the application?”

Adding to the stench is Johnsburg’s relationship with the Illinois Municipal League. Many Illinois towns are members of the league, an advocacy group that lobbies in Springfield for cities and villages throughout the state.

As Johnsburg’s sewer drama was unfolding, state Rep. Jack Franks, D-Marengo, responded with a bill that would turn the state’s SSA laws upside down. Essentially, the legislation would require municipalities to prove that a majority of its residents wanted its taxes increased through an SSA before it could be put into effect.

Johnsburg is opposed to this legislation. And so, too, is the municipal league, which claims that the bill would cripple towns’ ability to do special projects.

Now back to the appeal.

With the village hearing from taxpayers about the cost of its SSA fight, it wasn’t a sure thing that the board would vote to appeal. But Village Attorney Michael Smoron, whose law firm (Zukowski, Rogers, Flood & McArdle) represents a number of Illinois municipalities (also known as Illinois Municipal League members) agreed to take on the appeal at no additional cost to the village.

Who’s paying for the appeal? Hettermann said he had no idea. He didn’t bother asking. (Sniff, sniff.)

Some village residents said they were told by a trustee that the municipal league was paying for the appeal, because the league had an interest in Johnsburg winning the case.

The trustee in question, John Huemann, denies he said that. And Smoron insists that he’s not charging anyone any fees because it won’t be a time-consuming process.

Time will tell how these things play out. But right now, village officials’ explanations don’t quite pass the smell test.

• Dan McCaleb is editor of Northwest Herald. He can be reached at 815-526-4603, or via e-mail at dmccaleb@nwherald.com.