The Town Center Development Agreement (DA) with Northwestern Medicine (NM) will enable the Village to create a walkable town center area with a Riverwalk park, bandshell for community events, increased outdoor dining for restaurants and new retail spaces. The Village needs leaders who have a vision to capitalize on this once in a generation opportunity. Carl, Deb, Dan and Don have the vision and commitment to maximize the funding received from Northwestern Medicine for the betterment of all of Winfield’s residents.
We agree, overall property taxes are high. Unfortunately, the Village’s revenues are not increasing and may in fact decrease. For instance, the revenue received from the red-light camera is expected to be eliminated by state law, and Governor Pritzker’s budget cuts the Villages share of State Income tax by 10 %. We agree that the Village needs to address this now, rather than wait for an emergency to happen. We need a sustainable revenue base to keep pace with the ever-increasing costs that Springfield imposes on Municipalities. The key is to grow our property and sales tax base without having to consider an increase to our resident’s property taxes. Winfield has one of the lowest property tax rates in DuPage County even though we have a limited amount of commercial development. The Roosevelt Road and North Avenue corridors offer an opportunity to create sensible business development that will increase property and sales tax revenue for the Village and allow residents to shop close to home. Additionally, as mentioned above, the Town Center DA with NM will bring an increase to the property and sales tax base that can be used to spur additional development in our Town Center and address other needs the Village has without raising taxes. Along with the DA we were also able to complete a new grant agreement with NM for the next 21 years. This will be instrumental to assisting the Village in addressing its budget challenges.
We believe it is important to regularly communicate with residents through traditional and digital means. Winfield is a community with residents who care about the success of the Village and who want to provide their feedback. A modernized (and zero cost), well planned social media presence for the Village is desperately needed, so that residents can connect with their community and convey opinions. The Village’s opt-in/ text system has the capability of relaying more consistent communication about events, development progress, safety news and more.
Winfield is blessed to have a sense of volunteerism at its core. We will encourage more participation on volunteer committees and commissions by using all of the available communication tools to find people who are willing to serve. A culture of inclusiveness that welcomes input and skills from a wide variety of residents with expertise will enable the Village to maintain a lean staff. We must embrace the skill sets of all of our residents and their willingness and desire to serve.
Forward thinking leaders must embrace a culture of civility, accountability and transparency in order to achieve goals. Winfield’s residents want leaders who are respectful and fully communicate their thoughts and actions. We are committed to this belief.