Village of Campton Hills And
Campton Hills Township Highway District
Proposed Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) Update
Issued July 29, 2022
An intergovernmental agreement, which provides that the Village of Campton Hills pay the Campton Township Highway District to maintain the Village’s roads, ends this Sunday night, July 31, 2022. The State of Illinois has informed the Village that the current agreement does not include the language necessary to ensure road funds from the State and Kane County are properly spent and documented. The Village values its relationship with the Township Highway District and has submitted multiple proposals to continue the agreement with the necessary new language. However, the District refuses to alter its current inadequate method of invoicing, which means the agreement cannot continue.
Background
When the Village of Campton Hills was incorporated in 2007, an agreement was reached with the Campton Township Highway District to maintain the roadways within the Village boundaries rather than create a public works department within the Village. This initial agreement lasted for ten years and was updated in 2017 with a five-year agreement, which is now under review and set to expire on July 31, 2022.
The Village has two sources of funds for the maintenance and resurfacing of the roads:
- Motor Fuel Tax (MFT) Funds from the State of Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), and
- Road and Bridge Funds distributed by Kane County from property taxes levied by Campton Township Highway District
Motor Fuel Tax Funds
The Village receives MFT funds from the State of Illinois to be used for the maintenance and resurfacing of roads within the Village. The Village cannot use these funds for any other purpose. The Village has 101 miles of roads, which is approximately 75% of the roads in Campton Township. For many years, the Village gave these MFT funds to the Highway District before any work had been conducted and with no evidence that the funds were spent on MFT-eligible projects.
In August of 2019, IDOT informed the Village that the Highway District’s MFT invoices were invalid and indicated the Village owed the MFT fund over $330,000. This started a three-year audit of the Village’s MFT records, which cost the Village considerable staff time and money to resolve. The issue was the pre-payment of funds to the Highway District, which did not provide a clear accounting of MFT funds to projects. The state auditor explained that every dollar of MFT funds must be attached to an approved project. Now that the Village has resolved this three-year audit, the Village is committed to ensuring that all future accounting of funding for roadway projects is clear and accurate. This would simply require the Highway District to provide invoices for completed road work with the appropriate IDOT project number included. The Highway District refuses to send those invoices with adequate backup information.
Road And Bridge Funds
The Village also receives funds through Kane County for Road and Bridge work. In the past, the Village has recorded the funds and sent them directly to the Highway District. This practice does not provide appropriate accounting backup information for our auditors. To address this issue, the Village requested that the Highway District provide invoices based on the monthly report that the Highway District already submits to Kane County under state statute. This report would provide the Village with information necessary to support road work expenditures for the Village’s auditors. The Highway District refuses to send that invoice and report.
Summary
The Village appreciates the cooperation that has occurred between it and the Township Highway District since 2007. The Village would like to continue this cooperative effort. However, per the State of Illinois and the Village’s auditors, the agreement can only continue if proper accounting and invoicing procedures are required and followed.
The Village President and Board of Trustees are committed to transparency and accountability while providing the residents of Campton Hills with excellent service. If the Highway District is unwilling to meet that standard, the Village will find a new partner to service the Village’s roads, which includes road resurfacing, road crack filling, culvert repairs, grass cutting, snow removal, brush pickup, and tree removal. The Village will continue to pursue what is in the best interest of the community.
For more information, contact either:
Village President, Michael Tyrrell or
Village Administrator, Denise Burchard at 630-584-5700
