On April 23, the Village of Mahomet annexed three subdivisions against the wishes of a vocal contingent of homeowners in those subdivisions. The Briarcliff and Summit Ridge subdivisions were developed outside the existing limits of the village explicitly for a country feel and lower taxes. Many of those residents attended study sessions explaining to elected Mahomet trustees that they purchased their home, in part, because it was not in the Village. Village officials have been concerned with increasing revenues and increasing the Village’s population count for the upcoming 2020 Census.
A Federal Census should NEVER be a reason to annex property into a city or village. Nor should property owners be forcibly annexed into a city or village. These homeowners are now facing increased property taxes and fees that they didn’t want. These homeowners are now forced to purchase services from a provider they didn’t choose. These homeowners are now taxed without elected representation as the homeowners couldn’t vote in the 2019 Village of Mahomet election. These communities would have been better served to be annexed after a referendum vote on annexation. We doubt this would have passed given the large number of negative comments given in public meetings.
This is taxation without representation. We believe the annexation statutes should be changed to require subdivision annexations to go to a direct vote of the proposed annexation residents. These residents should be allowed to have their say at the ballot box, not railroaded in a village hearing or ask for relief in a court of law. The statutes should also be changed to require cities and villages to annex properties PRIOR to a municipal election so newly annexed residents can elect their officials, not have them foisted upon them.