By Mavis Bates
Kane County Board Member, District 4
Aurora
Kane County’s Public Safety Sales Tax Referendum is on the April 1 ballot, and all of the voters in Kane County will have a chance to vote on it. It’s our job, as Members of the Kane County Board, to make sure you, our voters, have all the information you need to make an informed decision.
We have been putting on presentations all over the County to help make sure everyone gets to hear the truth about the Referendum. If you haven’t been able to attend any of our townhall meetings so far, it’s not too late. We are holding two more meetings, one at 6:30 Thursday, March 20, at New England Congregational Church, 406 W Galena Boulevard, Aurora, and one at 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 25 at the Sugar Grove Public Library, 125 Municipal Drive, Sugar Grove.
The referendum is asking you to approve a 0.75% sales tax for Public Safety. This means you would pay an additional $.75 (75 cents) on a $100 purchase of tangible personal property bought at a retail store. The basic necessities of life, including groceries, medicine, and big-ticket items like a car or truck, are not included in this sales tax. We feel that a sales tax is fairer than a property tax because our homeowners are already doing their fair share. Plus, both residents and non-residents who shop in Kane County would be contributing to funding public safety.
Every penny of this sales tax would go toward public safety, which includes our sheriff, the courts, the state’s attorney, the coroner, the circuit clerk, 911 and the Office of Emergency Management. Our Finance Department will make sure that these funds are deposited into special accounts for public safety and never used for any other purpose.
Public Safety is a top priority for Kane County, making life better for us and our families right here where we live, work, and play. Kane County needs to maintain our public safety funding to ensure effective operation of our public safety offices. We need our specialty courts to continue providing mental health services and prevention initiatives. We need to protect our children from abuse and exploitation, including child pornography.
We hope to see you at one of our townhall meetings. If you would like more information about the Kane County Public Safety Sales Tax Referendum, please visit our website at www.kanesafe.og or call me at 630-605-9244.