http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/naperville-sun/news/ct-nvs-dupage-trail-county-board-st-0527-20160531-story.html
DuPage sales tax drop goes into effect Wednesday
The sales tax on general merchandise purchased in DuPage County drops by a quarter cent as of June 1.
Consumers will pay 7 cents in tax on every dollar spent effective Wednesday, down from 7.25 cents, in a reduction that's estimated by county officials to put $36 million back into taxpayer pockets.
The quarter-cent sales tax, in place since voters approved it in 1985, was implemented to help the DuPage Water Commission become a self-sustaining utility.
"I don't know the last time we've seen any governmental unit actually abolish a tax like we have done," DuPage County Chairman Dan Cronin said at last week's county board meeting.
To illustrate the point, Cronin ceremonially cut away one-fourth of a layer cake decorated in the image of a penny.
In April, the water commission announced a tentative budget that, for the fifth consecutive year, had a reduction in total operating expenses and, for the second consecutive year, called for lower water rates.
Water commission customers include most, but not all, DuPage County municipalities.
The utility was able to save $10 million in interest charges with the early payoff of revenue bonds and repaying $70 million in debt certificates. It also has fully funded its pensions, restored capital and reserve funds, and established a revenue stream that doesn't rely on taxation, commission officials said.
"This is truly a government reform success story that will benefit the citizens of DuPage County for many years to come," said county board member Jim Zay, who's also the water commission chairman, in a statement on the sales tax reduction. "The effort to control costs has put the commission on a solid financial footing as we transition to a self-sustaining utility."
Of the 7 percent sales tax paid on goods purchased in DuPage County, 5 percent goes to the state of Illinois, 1 percent to local unincorporated areas, .75 percent to the Regional Transportation Authority and .25 percent to the county.
Cronin said he pushed for the sales tax reduction and water commission reform six years ago when, as an Illinois senator, he was one of 11 co-sponsors of Senate Bill 580. The legislation called for numerous reforms after it was found the DuPage Water Commission had misspent almost $69 million in reserve funds.
In general, more than $33 million has been cut from the DuPage County budget since 2010, when Cronin was elected county board chairman, he said. The current 2016 budget includes no property tax increase for the eighth consecutive year.
