Village Board repeals grocery tax
The Peoria Heights Village Board has overturned a 1 percent local grocery tax set to take effect on July 1 following a ballot question in which voters expressed their displeasure with the tax by a lopsided margin.
Trustees voted unanimously on Wednesday to rescind the tax with nearly three in four voters marking the circle next to “no” on their ballots.
While there was agreement on following the expressed will of voters, some disagreement remained on the best path forward over the long haul regarding an issue that has taken a long and winding path over the last six months. First the Board voted 5-1 last fall to impose a local grocery tax to replace the statewide one that was expiring on Jan. 1 of this year, which was then followed by an unprecedented mayoral veto, with the Board then voting 4-2 to override that veto along with a decision to go directly to voters for their input.
That brought the Village to Tuesday’s election and Wednesday’s special meeting to address the outcome. Again, passionate views were expressed on both sides.
Trustee Nate Steinwedel asked for “a little bit of a mindset change” regarding how to approach the impending loss of approximately $125,000 in annual revenue from the tax, urging the Village to take steps to facilitate more economic development and tax base growth as opposed to grabbing “every dollar that we can taxwise.
“Looking at the numbers, Illinois, out of all 50 states, we have the highest tax burden … We beat New York. We beat California,” he said. “We have to say, ‘At what point is enough?’ How much does the government need to consume of our residents’ income?
“We are listening to the people in the community and what they’re saying to us, that literally they’re being taxed to death. We’ve got to stop at some point.”
Trustee Brandon Wisenburg, perhaps the most vocal among the trustees regarding his opposition to the grocery tax, applauded the end of what he referred to as “this evil, regressive tax” and characterized both the state’s abolition and the Village’s as “a good step for working families.”
“If we expect our residents to live within their means, they should expect the same of us,” he said.
Local residents “don’t run their families with massive surpluses. They balance their checkbooks. They make tough choices every day. When their income is flat, they cut expenses. They just don’t go looking for more money from their neighbors’ pockets.
“The voters made their choice perfectly clear … I stand with the majority of citizens who do not want more local taxes.”
Others were less enthusiastic.
Trustee Elizabeth Khazzam emphasized that she was “very sympathetic” to the inflationary pressures that many families are facing but suggested that the Village’s repeal of the tax does not mean they are escaping it.
Especially with the impending closure of the Save A Lot store, “I fear that our residents will be forced to shop in surrounding communities that do charge the 1 percent tax,” she said. “I sincerely hope that we will not have to revisit this down the road.”
Trustee Sarah DeVore sounded a similar note, saying that the Village’s aging infrastructure needs are real after decades of deferred maintenance and that a reliable revenue stream of the sort that the Village is now surrendering is necessary to make those essential improvements.
The Village is “choosing not to collect revenues from non-residents,” and potentially, local government services could suffer as a result, she indicated.
Ultimately, all voted to reverse course on the tax.
“I’m very proud of this Board. I’m proud of all of you for having a very thoughtful conversation for the better part of a year on this,” said Mayor Matt Wigginton. “I know not all of us agreed.
“I admire your courage of conviction and staying true to where you were. But I also admire your willingness to go to the public, to the people of Peoria Heights, to ask them where they fell on this issue. That’s something unique to Peoria Heights, where we asked the people what their opinion was. I think tonight we have the opportunity to tell them, ‘We hear you loud and clear.’”
