Vehicle Sticker Shock hits Orland Park

The renewals for vehicle stickers came in the mail today and while I knew the price was going up from $15 every two years to $30 every two years, to see the 100 percent increase was still a bit shocking.

Let's be honest folks. We get angry when property taxes increase but in the end we know we have to pay them. But for some reason increases for the closer, smaller things like vehicle stickers, and other fees really seem to hit hard. The principle is if the fee is so low what good does it do to increase the fee? It's only $15 more now. Although if you miss the deadline, you will be paying another 100 percent penalty, or $60 a year.

And you don't have much time to get your payment in before it doubles again. You have to do it by July 1, 2011.

For a vehicle sticker????

Maybe if they just increased my property taxes $5 a month, I could understand. Well, they have increased my property taxes in Orland Park. They have increased dramatically.

Seniors who only paid $1 now will pay $10. The village says the projected revenue from the dramatic increase will be $1.075 million, or an increase of $544,000 from 2009.

All of the stickers for all of the various types of vehicles will increase with the biggest hikes between $22 and $40.

Only seniors will be exempt from the penalty bump.

They had originally planned to increase fee two years ago but balked to avoid a backlash in the election where Mayor Dan McLaughlin and several board members easily won re-election. (And this column deserves the credit for putting the pressure on the board to back down.)

I know Village Manager Paul Grimes is doing the best he can with what he is given to plug a $1.8 million hole in the village budget. Things are tough. But when it comes to the property tax increases and a vehicle sticker hike, most voters are more shocked by the latter.

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