Downers Grove village officials aim to involuntarily annex roughly 430 unincorporated properties in and around the current village boundaries before the end of summer.

Yep, that means those roughly 430 property owners will see an additional property tax jump on next year’s bill when they start paying village taxes in exchange for services such as snow removal, road maintenance and utilities.

“The main part of it is the efficiency,” village planning manager Jeff O’Brien said. The current arrangement “creates confusion and additional overlap.”

The annexation is part of the village’s long-range financial plan which “is being considered as part of a strategy for enhancing revenue,” according to a statement on the village’s website. Officials are looking into ways to expand the village’s property and utility tax base after identifying a structural decline in revenue and enduring two consecutive years of multimillion dollar budget cuts.

An annexation study found the village could bring in as much as $1.8 million over the next few years and potentially $275,000 in additional revenue in 2011, according to a July 2010 report.

Future annexations – both voluntary and involuntary – are to be expected in the coming years, as well.

O’Brien said officials have fielded a lot of phone calls from those who are slated to be annexed into the village.  So far reactions from soon-to-be residents have been mostly inquisitive – responses he characterized as neither negative nor positive.

“I hesitate to say (soon-to-be residents) are happy or upset,” O’Brien said. “There will be an increase in taxes so I think (most) just want to know what the bottom line will be.”

For the average owner of a $300,000 home, estimates indicate a $100 to $125 increase in annual property taxes – taxes that will be directed toward the village, pension, fire and library funds.

As a result of the annexation, most obligations to non-Downers Grove fire and library districts will be absolved. Though, some taxpayers will be double-dinged if their fire district is making debt payments on borrowed money. Property tax payments on the borrowed money would continue until the debt is paid off in those instances.

In a small number of cases O’Brien said annual tax bills may increase upwards of $600 “depending on what fire district you’re in.”

While annexation comes with additional tax burden, there will be myriad benefits, he said.

For example, when a 911 emergency call is placed from a residence in unincorporated Downers Grove it’s hard to predict how far an ambulance, police car or fire truck will have to travel to respond. The emergency workers may be affiliated with a nearby fire protection district, the village of Downers Grove. They may even respond from a different  area of DuPage County in some instances. Sometimes a combination of all those departments may respond – a logistic hassle with unnecessary layers of confusion, duplication and cost. Under the new plan, first-responders would come from the village.

For a few homes in the village’s northwest corner, the annexation will mean the extension of village water mains, eliminating reliance on well water.  For those currently hooked up to village utilities, annexation will translate into reduced water rates, which are lower for residents.

The village will be hosting meetings starting at 7 p.m. next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to address questions and the first batch of legal notices are expected to be mailed out in sometime in June. While the council already authorized the village to move forward with the annexation, an ordinance will have to be approved by a vote sometime in August.