Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Comment Retail Tax topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Public commenter calls April 1 retail tax referendum a "bait-and-switch" and raises local crime concerns
Summary
During public comment at the Kane County Finance and Budget Committee meeting, Michelle Battag of St. Charles criticized language and proposed uses of an April 1 retail sales tax referendum and urged clearer messaging; she also referenced a local criminal case and expressed concern about county spending priorities.
Michelle Battag of St. Charles used the meeting's public-comment period on Feb. 26 to criticize an April— retail sales-tax referendum and to raise local crime concerns.
Battag said the ballot language and prior presentations gave voters the impression tax proceeds would be used exclusively for public-safety purposes, and she described later messaging as broader. "When I came to the January meeting and the slides were presented, the information was basically about the county has elected to use the tax to be used exclusively for public safety, crime prevention, detention, firefighting, police, medical, ambulance, and other emergency services," she said, adding that the current presentations she has attended suggested additional, broader spending.
Battag summarized the ballot question for voters: "Shall Kane County be authorized to impose an increase on its share of local sales tax by .75%? This would mean consumers would pay an additional 75 cents on a sales tax for every hundred dollars of tangible personal property," she said.
She also raised separate concerns about county capital needs and cited COVID relief funding that she said had been used for repairs. Near the end of her remarks she referenced a local criminal case, saying an "illegal alien" had murdered two Geneva residents and that she had seen limited press coverage; that detail was presented as a personal observation during public comment.
The committee did not take action on the referendum at the Feb. 26 meeting. Chair and committee members received Battag's remarks during the public-comment period and moved on to scheduled agenda business.
