Geneva Township Board of Trustees Cutting Costs to Combat Rising Taxes

On a beautiful spring evening, Wheeler Park is a great place to play.  The sounds of a baseball game echo across the landscape—bats crack, coaches shout and parents cheer.  But in an understated building just a few paces away, it’s a work night for the Geneva Township Board of Trustees. 

Trustees Sharon Brazill, John Connolly, Richard Sharp and Supervisor J. Patrick Jaeger gather around a horseshoe-shaped table. Jaeger notices the absence of their fifth member, Robert Kovacs, and Connolly reminds them Kovacs is in California for a wedding. 

"It’s like 75 and sunny 300 days a year,” Connolly says, and everybody laughs.  How does anybody there get work done?

Somebody compliments Jaeger on his new gavel, and he grins proudly.  “Paid two dollars for that. Got it at a flea market,” Jaeger says. 

A few minutes later, Jaeger raps that gavel on the table and the meeting is called to order. From here on out, the trustees are all business.

One of the first items on the agenda is hiring a new waste-management service—a project that’s been Connolly’s baby. After realizing one of the services was grossly overcharging them, Connolly is recommending a switch to Veolia Environmental Services. Veolia was the lowest bidder, but Connolly says he’s determined to negotiate an even lower price. “Good job, John,” the trustees say, and Connolly nods.

Jaeger turns it over to Senior Center Director Sheri McMurray, and after she briefs the board on their upcoming events, she asks if anyone has questions.  Brazill says she met a woman the other day who wasn’t quite at retirement age, and she was asking about programming for her age group.

“Personally, I don’t think we’re doing enough to get to those people, but in order to do enough, it’s going to require more expenditure … and money’s getting tighter and tighter as each day passes,” Jaeger says. McMurray says she’ll ask some of the seniors to volunteer to organize golf outings or tennis groups. 

Assessor Denise Lacure says it’s been a crazy month in her office, and she’s been organizing seminars coming up in June to answer citizens’ questions about taxes.  Sharp points out that the residents in his condominium complex have a lot of questions, and Lacure’s volunteered to come answer them herself.  “I just want you all to know, she’s working hard at her job,” Sharp says.

Lacure thanks him and turns the board’s attention to a slightly off-topic matter that’s caught her attention over the past few weeks.

“There’s a big push in some parts of the legislature to do away with or consolidate local governments,” Lacure says, and everybody nods.  “It’s time to speak up, because I think it’s coming one way or another.”

“Wait a minute, wasn’t that last Senate bill voted down?” Connolly asks.  “So—for now—it’s not coming.”

“It didn’t pass because it was a dumb idea,” says Highway Commissioner Mark Wissing, chuckling. He changes the topic to the township’s annual tradition of placing flags in the cemetery to honor Geneva’s fallen soldiers. Year after year, he and Jaeger have been out in the cemetery at 5 a.m., following a worn-out map to tell them where to put the flags. 

“There’s just one problem this year: Mr. Jaeger’s going to be gone on this day,” says Wissing. “Now, I’m going to do this, but I’m going to need some help.”  He recruits Connolly and seems genuinely excited to share the experience with somebody new. “It’s a beautiful display,” he says, and Jaeger agrees—he loves watching the American Legion play Taps at sunrise. 

To close out the meeting, Jaeger has some somber news. Even though the township has fought diligently against tax increases, the assessment has dropped so much that they’ve had to increase the tax rate slightly. He asks the trustees to form a committee to comb the budget for any way they can find to cut costs. 

“We’re not going to save a whole lot, because we’re not spending fat around here,” he says, “but it’s an important gesture on our parts to let people know that we’re trying —we’re trying to do our best ... We have an obligation to our taxpayers to look for every possible way that we can save every penny.”

The committees will be working on the budget throughout the next month, and they’ll approve the budget at their next meeting: 6:30 p.m. June 18 at the Township Center in Wheeler Park.