Elgin mayor touts city’s growth and leadership in annual address

Elgin Mayor David Kaptain delivered his State of the City address on Wednesday, saying the city has become a leader in Illinois and a welcoming destination for people and businesses.

“It’s the quality of life in the city of Elgin. It’s the people that are here. It’s the diversity of this community and the welcoming community that we have and that sells more sometimes than dollars,” he said.

Kaptain celebrated recognition Elgin received from a couple of different online sites this year, including being named one of America’s safest and most affordable cities and one of the fastest-growing cities in the country.

“It’s not just the city of Elgin that makes this happen. It’s all of us,” he said to a room full of community, business and education leaders at Elgin Community College.

Kaptain cited a number of new residential developments to keep up with the population growth, including 200 apartments under construction and approvals for 150 units of senior housing and 274 single-family homes. Over 300 other units are in the pipeline.

“One of the concerns here is for us to be able to provide affordable housing, but also available housing,” he said. “It’s important for us to be able to look at that as a city, and how do we grow and make sure that we have diverse, balanced growth throughout the city.”

He said the city recently approved a balanced budget that keeps the property tax levy for the general fund flat for the 12th consecutive year. In addition, he said the city is keeping pace with its pension obligations.

“We’re trying to avoid the pitfall that other communities have gone into, where their pension debt is starting to grind them into the ground,” he said.

Kaptain said the city will face challenges with its water utility in the coming years.

Elgin will face challenges with its water utility in the coming years, Kaptain said.

More than $1 billion in infrastructure improvements are necessary, including replacing wells over 100 years old and replacing water mains that lose about 30% of the water coming out of the city’s treatment facility.

The city recently approved raising water rates for the next five years and expects that it will have to be addressed beyond that.

Kaptain said the city has been out front in replacing lead service lines. He says it’s one way Elgin has become a leader in the state.

“That’s been a change here in the last 15 to 20 years,” Kaptain said. “We always wanted to be like somebody else, and I don’t want to be like anybody else. And now people are looking at us as the leaders … in the state of Illinois.”

The recent fire in “Tent City,” a homeless encampment between the Fox River and Route 31 near downtown, raised serious concerns for Kaptain about the safety of the people living there.

“That’s going to accelerate a decision to do something,” he said. “We have to make sure all our residents are safe, and that’s what we’ll be working on in the next few weeks.”

Kaptain also suggested the city and the Grand Victoria Casino have a conversation about partnering to build a hotel to capitalize on the expansion and improvements at the Elgin Sports Complex.

“I think it’s critical for the growth of the city,” he said.

Elected as mayor in 2011, Kaptain has said this will be his last term and that he and the city staff will continue to do the best they can for the community.

“After serving as an elected official for over 20 years, there are always more drivers in the back seat than there are in the front seat,” he said to laughs from the crowd. “Our job is to make sure that as the people in the front seat, we keep our eyes on the road, and we keep moving forward.”