|
 On Nov. 6, voters in the Collinsville area will consider a
binding referendum asking whether the Collinsville Area Recreation District, or
CARD, should be dissolved.
After more than 6,750 petition signatures were collected, CARD commissioners
voted unanimously Aug. 15 to include the binding referendum on the Nov. 6
general ballot.
According to the county, the referendum question reads, “Shall the park district
known as the Collinsville Area Recreation District be dissolved?”
A “yes” vote signals support for the elimination of the park district. A “no”
vote signals opposition to the elimination of the district. A two-thirds
majority vote is required for the referendum to take effect.
The district – which includes parts of Collinsville, Maryville, Glen Carbon,
Pontoon Beach and Caseyville – is no longer responsible for any parks after
having transferred its assets to Collinsville and Maryville.
[to top of second column] |
Since its creation in 1991, CARD has accumulated over $21 million in
debt through the issuance of bonds for parks. While the debt will
take over 20 years to pay off regardless of the referendum outcome,
elimination of the park district may lower the CARD portion of
residents’ property tax bills by 25 percent, according to the
Belleville News-Democrat.
According to Collinsville City Manager Mitch Bair, the park transfer
comes as an added cost to the city, but he expects increased tax
revenue to cover the costs. An expanded food and beverage tax and
increased hotel and motel tax went into effect in Collinsville on
May. 1.
This is not the first time district residents have attempted to
eliminate the park district. Residents unsuccessfully tried in 2015
to gather enough petition signatures for a ballot question. This
time the voters will be able to register their opinions at the
ballot box.
Click here to respond to the editor about this article |
