2022 Road Referendum

Hawthorn Woods Working to Pave the Way

The Village of Hawthorn Woods infrastructure is aging. An independent engineering study was conducted.  The study provides information on the condition of each Village road and includes a 25-year road maintenance program which identifies each road and the year each road will be resurfaced/rehabilitated. 

Click here to view the 2023 Street Maintenance Improvement Report

On June 28, 2022, the Village of Hawthorn Woods placed a referendum question on the ballot of our General Primary Election seeking a replacement funding mechanism for road repairs and maintenance. The Village had a unique opportunity to replace the road Special Service Area (SSA) tax rates with a Village-wide $0.18 dedicated road tax. $0.18 is the equivalent to the average of the combined road SSA tax rate. Year 2022 was the last year the road SSA taxes were collected.

The 2022 Road Referendum was voted on by the residents of Hawthorn Woods and passed. The Village is now able to pave the way with a sustainable road repair funding program for the first time in the history of our municipality.

Prior to the passage of the 2022 Road Referendum, some residents paid a higher portion of their real estate taxes than others, based on their SSA population and location in town. Some residents paid no portion of their real estate taxes for the SSA program because their subdivisions were not part of the Village at the time the SSA’s were created. 

The Road Referendum Program will now include all properties in the Village, based on the assessed valuation of each property. This program does not borrow in bonding capability, incurring interest. Rather, annual street maintenance projects, as outlined in the engineering plan, will now occur as taxes are collected.

Village of Hawthorn Woods 2022 Road Referendum Program

• The referendum is expected to generate $900,000 annually for Village roads.
• A property with a fair market value of $500,000, regardless of location within the Village, will pay a road tax of approximately $290 annually, based on the $0.18 tax rate, or approximately $25.00 a month.
• The new road tax began in 2023, just as the SSA road bond expired and was no longer collected. This created a neutral effect for most tax bills.
• The passage of the 2022 Road Referendum Program eliminated the annual Village vehicle sticker fee previously charged each year for all vehicles.
• The Road Referendum Program includes all properties within the Village, based on the assessed valuation of each property, creating a more equitable plan for all neighborhoods.