Village administrator says large unpaid tax bill skewed Willow Springs’ collection ranking; $10,000 website overhaul proposed

The village administrator told the Willow Springs Village Board that a Cook County treasurer statement showing increased property-tax delinquencies across the South Suburbs placed Willow Springs near the bottom of the county list, but said that ranking is distorted by one large unpaid $7,000,000 tax bill connected to the Willow Glen property and that the village’s collections are otherwise trending on budget.

The administrator said the single large account is being addressed and that once it is cleared Willow Springs’ relative position in the county list should improve. "We're absolutely not number 6 on the worst," the administrator said, adding collections are "on track for the year." The administrator cautioned residents not to panic about the published ranking.

In the same report, the administrator presented a vendor proposal from Sabertooth Consulting, a website host owned by a Willow Springs resident, to migrate and modernize the village’s WordPress site. The proposal quoted a $10,000 cost to move existing data, preserve search functionality, and deliver a mobile-friendly layout similar to modern municipal sites. The administrator said funding is available and staff hopes to complete the migration by the end of the year or early next year.

Why it matters: public-facing tax-collection figures can affect residents’ perceptions and vendor/credit evaluations; a single large unpaid bill can change a small municipality’s ranking. A more modern website may improve resident access to records and services.

The administrator did not provide an implementation schedule beyond the target rollout window, and staff indicated the funding source is available this fiscal year. No vote or formal action was taken on the website proposal during the meeting; the administrator said the village "can fund it this year."