This is our flyer warning voters to vote against the mental health board in Milton Township in Spring 2021. It barely passed. And unfortunately, other townships now have these new taxing districts too.
These mental health boards are a perfect example of how government grows to only fund more government, creating useless overhead and duplication of services.
As I have explained before, these boards are able to assess a tax that is, by law, greater than the entire township tax that currently funds all other services. In some cases, the boards can assess a tax that is four times greater than the current township tax.
The voters approved these boards. In a state that has the largest number of taxing districts in the country – by a long shot. – We have nearly 8,000 taxing districts. The next closest is Texas is just over 5,000. – Voters actually chose to add another one to their property tax bill. It’s insane.
These mental health board members are appointed by elected township officials, who also approve their budget. Let’s be clear here: The board members and the township do not provide any actual mental health services. They don’t hire in-house psychologists, for example. Instead, they are just a tax collection and distribution center.
Now, four years later, it is even more obvious that these boards are just another layer of useless government
Here is a link to the Milton Township Community Health Board meeting minutes from October 21, 2024. The minutes include a list of their “funding partners” for 2025.
The total amount they will spend is $895,915. Over 20% of the money, $191,270 will go to other governments including $45,000 to Wheaton, $100,000 to DuPage County Health Department and $46,270 to CASE/Glenbard Early Childhood Collaborative. The local YMCA is getting $41,000, and INCA Relief, a national organization headquartered in New York, is receiving $43,375. Government is taxing us two or three times just to pass the money to each other or to non-profits.
Meanwhile, DuPage County built a new NAMI facility in 2015 and is now building a new $26 million Crisis Recovery Center that will provide mental health and substance use treatment services.
“Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program.” Milton Friedman.
I sincerely hope Trump’s DOGE effort brings all of this to light and voters start to wake up about government waste and demand that the fleecing of taxpayers ends.