Naperville ends sidewalk cost-share program for now. After several years of discussion, the Naperville City Council has taken a step forward and removed a stipulation that property owners need to pay a portion of the cost of replacing sidewalks that have deteriorated over time.
Naperville’s municipal code has long included a cost-sharing provision for sidewalk replacements. The most recent formula that has been in place is a cost-split. Residential property owners paid 40% of the tab, while the city had been covering the remaining 60%; in commercial areas, the split was an even 50% on both sides.
Several council members want Naperville to pay full cost for sidewalk repairs
Councilwomen Allison Longenbaugh and Jennifer Bruzan Taylor indicated they had asked to have the 2025 cost share plan pulled from the consent agenda when the matter was up for a vote at the city council’s Wednesday, April 2, meeting.
During deliberations, Taylor indicated she had brought the sidewalk cost-share policy up in prior years and has continued to advocate for its cessation.
“Having sidewalks repaired is a basic duty of the city; it’s the same thing as having street repairs,” Taylor said. “We don’t charge a certain percentage of the street in front of somebody’s house for repair work — the same should apply for sidewalks as well.”
Longenbaugh shared similar sentiments as she indicated her support for ending the cost-share arrangement. She also praised staffers in Naperville’s transportation, engineering and development (TED) department for taking strides to tamp down on the total cost in recent years.
“I do commend staff for lowering costs by doing the shaving of the sidewalks … instead of replacing all of the squares entirely, when they’re able to do that,” Longenbaugh said.
Council voted 7-1 to support the proposal to share the cost of sidewalks
For now, the end of the cost-share arrangement is only in effect for this year, based on the wording of the motion.
There was widespread support for ending the cost-share arrangement for this year, with a 7-1 vote. Councilman Paul Leong cast the dissenting vote, and Councilman Nate Wilson was not present at the April 2 meeting.
As deliberations continued and the proposal was hashed over, several other council members shared their support for ending the cost-share arrangement.
Councilman Ian Holzhauer argued the arrangement that had been in place puts a strain on the city budget because of the administrative expense of individually billing impacted property owners and subsequently trying to collect the funds.
“It takes staff time. A significant part of this program goes to the collection of these funds,” Holzhauer said. “For that reason alone, I think the fiscal case is really strong.”
Summer weather brings almost 2000 requests for sidewalk repairs
With warm weather on the horizon, TED staffers presented to the council this year’s sidewalk replacement program plans.
A total of 1,794 properties is included in this year’s sidewalk replacement program. The council in a separate motion on April 2 awarded an $807,840.70 contract to Beritus Inc. to carry out this year’s work.
TED Director Bill Novack said the cost-share has typically meant the city bills $450,000 to $700,000 annually to property owners.
“It varies, but it’s actually been coming down a little bit,” Novack said.
For at least this year, Finance Director Ray Munch said he does not anticipate the cessation of the cost-share arrangement weighing on the municipal budget.
“For this year, I think we can accommodate it,” Munch said. “The capital program is an area of the budget where there’s always a little bit of flexibility because of the timing of project changes. If we’re talking about the $500,000 range, there’s probably the capacity to accommodate it.”
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