Facade Improvement Program

While a number of communities in the Chicagoland region offered residents grants or loans to complete home rehabilitation projects, the Residential Façade Improvement Program in East Dundee was unique because all of its program funds were derived from video gaming revenue.

In a 2010 advisory referendum, East Dundee residents voted by a very narrow margin to keep video gaming illegal, and the Village Board voted to ban it soon after. In 2012, the Village was approached by several business owners who said they were losing business to neighboring municipalities because of East Dundee’s ban on video gaming. After evaluating the business community’s concerns, the Village Board decided to lift the ban. East Dundee received 5 percent of total revenue and assessed a $1,000 annual license fee to each establishment with video gaming machines, as well as a $250 fee per machine.

Under the program guidelines, grant amounts could not exceed 50 percent of all eligible activities or $5,000, whichever was less. Applicants were required to submit three bids, and the reimbursement amount was based on the lowest of the three bids received. Applicants were required to obtain a building permit within 60 days of receiving project approval from the Village Board, and all work outlined in the project proposal had to be completed within one year. Additionally, program participants were required to commit to residing in their home for two years following reimbursement. Demolition of the property before this time period required 100 percent of the grant funds to be repaid to the Village. Sale of the property before this time period required 50 percent of the grant funds to be repaid.

Applications for grant funding were accepted between January 1 and March 31 each year. Village staff reviewed applications and recommended which projects should receive funding based on the program’s budget. The following criteria were used to evaluate applications: the value of the project; the extent to which the project corrected outstanding building code or property maintenance violations; and the applicant’s previous compliance with or correction of building code or property maintenance violations. Village staff project recommendations were sent to the Village Board for consideration and final approval.