Okay, so I just moved to Glen Ellyn in mid-September. Maybe 1-3 weeks later, I updated my vehicle registration with my new address. Then, a couple of days ago, I got nailed with a "missing village sticker" parking ticket while parked in the train lot between Main & Park, south of the tracks.

Now, I've already Googled around and that's how I came to this site, noticing previous posts about the sticker, and I understand the reasoning behind it now. However, what I'm wondering, is how should I have known that I needed one? Is this just sort of the responsibility of every resident to find anything they could be ticketed for? Is there some sort of informational packet I should've picked up? After talking to some friends, I've found out that city stickers are more common than I realized, but still, I've never had one while living in Wheaton, so I wasn't expecting this. I know they're not going to dismiss the ticket due to my ignorance, but is it worth fighting at all, or should I just pay up and move on?

You'll find out by trial and error.

Go to the Civic Center and tell them your story, They will listen, nod their head, look compassionate then hit you for the fine and late fee.

I would advise reading the board often, as it will educate you on all of the hidden rules, such as the 3 second stop required at all stop signs within the Village.

Did they not give you the New Resident package of info at the Civic Center when you went to sign up for water and sewer service, etc.? —Ted E.

jt, I think every new GE resident goes through this with various village ordinances and whatnot. GEM's right, though. You could fight it, but around here I'm quite certain that it wouldn't get you very far. I got hit with another ticket for just that in April. Then in June I got my friendly "reminder" that they expired in April. Sometimes we're a little backwards around here.

Ted, I never got a New Resident package when I moved in....but I never had to sign up for any of those things either, being in an apartment.

quote:

Originally posted by GESingleMom2:
GEM's right

That looks so nice! I just had to see it again!

That's the Catch-22. Good landlords tell you to go get one. Most just leave you hangin'. Sorry 'bout that. —Ted E.

Lol, it's not your fault, Ted. Things happen.

GEM, you're a nerd

Hey! Hey! Don't be flaming Me!!!

I tell everyone!

You know you love it, GEM

I hear that way too often!

I've always hated getting those dumb stickers!

So I've changed the registration on my vehicles to a non Glen Ellyn address.

If I had to purchase multiple stickers now, I might just scan a sticker and print up a few on some acetate plastic and mount it so the number was obscured.

Actually I wouldn't do that, but know some who have.

I have also seen some products that allow you to stick the sticker onto it and then stick that in your window, If you need to move the sticker, the whole thing peels off (like the plastic tag you get on the windshield with an oil change) and move it to another car.

I really hate when they come onto your private property to check for stickers. I didn't consent to a search in my driveway!

It's questionable as to whether or not it can be seen from public property (i.e. the street or sidewalk)....then they can do that.

I actually had a friend recently go to court to contest a village sticker ticket in Sleepy Hollow. Her apartments have a shared garage system (no walls in between the stalls, but each has its own garage door and entry). One of the neighbors' garage doors was open and an officer saw fit to ticket every vehicle in the garage that didn't have one. She fought her case and won (good training for a soon-to-be paralegal).

I never understood the purpose of those stupid things anyway. Our vehicles are already registered to the village....it's just another excuse to generate revenue for the town.

Agreed. Having grown up downstate Illinois, Chicagoland is the only area I have seen this in the state.

I had a very similar experience last year with this issue. I moved to Glen Ellyn in July and updated my address on my license. I took the train down to the marathon in October and left my car in my apartment building lot. I figured I lived close enough that I didn't need to park in one of the lots. After running 26 miles, I was barely moving and came home to find a ticket on my car. What a great way to end my day! I couldn't believe it. I grew up in another state and had never heard of such a thing. I thought about arguing it, but was told if I lost I would have to pay $300 in court costs. I think the ticket was $50. The lady did let me buy a Glen Ellyn sticker for half price. Their argument to me was that it was on my water bill. My landlord paid that. Then they told me that when you move into an area it is your responsibility to learn the ordinances of the village. It really ticked me off!

Last spring, I sent President Pfefferman a note asking...

quote:

I thought that, about ten years ago, the village was going to drop the automobile window sticker program because it actually cost more to operate than it brought in... Whatever happened to that idea?

Mark replied:

quote:

The vehicle stickers are a long story. Bottom line was that some vocal residents said NO! to ending them and raising property taxes by that amount. Then, the community survey came back that said the residents do not favor this idea. In the meantime, we raised the vehicle sticker fee, so we are even more dependent on this tax and less likely to meld it into property tax, as residents will notice it even more. The cost of the program is not insignificant but the vehicle stickers are HIGHLY profitable.

(Mark, I hope you don’t mind me posting this here, but it doesn’t seem to be Personal and Confidential... and if nothing else, it may save you a bit of typing.) —Ted E.

I guess we can add that to the list as well along with the one where we were going to look into rolling back the sales tax. My guess that is not going to happen any time soon either.

The thing that’s so extraordinary cruel about a retail sales tax increase of “only” 1% is the take-home pay impact it has on the Moms and Pops who own and operate small retail shops.

The typical response from the municipalities who see small local businesses as cash cows is generally, “What’s the problem? Just raise your prices by 1%. Nobody will even notice!”

Problem is, realistically, they can’t. When raised by one percent, something that was 9.95 becomes $10.05. Something priced at $49.95 would become $50.45. We shoppers are so trained on that “$.95” trick that — even though we know it’s a trick — we’ll rarely buy something with a “funny price.”

So, the Mom and Pop shop owners keep the old $.95 pricing model, and figure they’ll just swallow the “small” 1% themselves, thinking they can eat a little more hamburger and less steak.

But here’s the problem: Most small businesses earn between 2% and 5% net profit. Most owner/operators don’t pay themselves a management/clerk salary (in addition to a fair return on their investment); all they take home is that net 2% to 5% of sales.

So that added sales tax has nowhere to come from other than off of that 2% to 5% that they take home. So the 2% take-home compensation becomes 1%, or the 5% becomes 4%.

In real dollars... if they were bringing home $40,000 a year, the worst case drops it to $20,000. The best case drops it to $32,000.

I know... this is an oversimplification, and if those Moms and Pops had really good tax advisors they might be able to beat the system. Most don’t.

So instead, most of them get blindsided by how much that 1% hits them in the pocketbook, and the rest of us can’t figure out why so many small businesses close their dors and go away.

‘Cause gee... It was only one percent.

quote:

The cost of the program is not insignificant but the vehicle stickers are HIGHLY profitable.

It is also nice to know that government officials are very "profit" oriented. Isn't it?

Across the country, and for many election cycles, candidates with business experience who have pledged to run their electoral empire ”like a business“ have had great voter appeal.

Please explain to me why this tax is unfair?

Seems to me that it is one of the best targetted taxes/user fees around to the extent it defrays some of the costs involved in maintaining the streets.