New Aurora mayor warns residents that property tax hike likely: 'They know we're in trouble'
The Brief
Mayor John Laesch says Aurora faces a fiscal crisis after years of tax giveaways and rising costs.
The city must borrow $88 million, and a property tax hike is likely on the table.
Laesch promises transparency and says residents are prepared for tough choices.
AURORA, Ill. - Aurora's new mayor isn't sugarcoating the financial state of the city—and says a property tax increase may be unavoidable.
What we know
It isn't often that a mayor enters office telling residents he's going to have to raise their property taxes. But that's the situation John Laesch says he's inherited in Aurora from two-term Republican Richard Irvin.
Laesch took over as leader of the state's second-largest city last Thursday after defeating Irvin in the April runoff election.
He says the town has to borrow $88 million just to make ends meet — because the previous administration has given tens of millions in tax incentives to development projects — some have panned out, many have not.
Big picture view
Laesch says residents elected him because they knew that a financial mess would have to get cleaned up.
"We didn't get into this mess overnight and we're not going to get out of it overnight," Laesch said over a cup of coffee at downtown café Society 57. "I've got a lot of support from the community. They know we're in trouble. I think they're going to be patient as I work through some solutions as long as I communicate with the community on where we're at, and I plan to be open and transparent moving forward."
Laesch says some of the big spending involves infrastructure for the new Hollywood Casino facility on Farnsworth Road, as well as incentives and tax breaks given to developers with connections to former Mayor Irvin. He says that half the projects that the town helped fund are now underwater.
He also says the former mayor signed generous public employee labor contracts, saddling the town with escalating costs — thus the potential for a tax hike.
"I let the public know that was a likely outcome. I'm going to do my best to cut back, but many of these contracts that were signed are already a done deal," Laesch said.
The Source
FOX 32's Paris Schutz reported on this story.
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