About 300 Hinsdale homeowners could face thousands of dollars in costs to replace their lead water lines after three Village Board trustees said Tuesday, July 21, they oppose using taxpayer money to help cover the expense.

Trustees Scott Banke, Luke Stifflear, and Neale Byrnes said at the board meeting that residents should pay the full price for replacing their portion of lead service lines, with exceptions only for low-income homeowners. Village staff had recommended the village cover half of each homeowner's private-side cost, up to $6,000, to encourage compliance with a state mandate requiring all lead lines replaced by 2036.

"The thought of spending taxpayer money on private property just does not sit well with me," Stifflear said at the meeting. "You're looking at roughly 19 out of 20 residents subsidizing the investment in a private property. It's just not right."

Only Trustee Alexis Braden voiced support for the staff plan. Trustee Michelle Fisher said she needed more information before taking a position. Trustee Matt Posthuma was absent.

Village President Greg Hart weighed in the following day in a written statement issued to Patch on Wednesday, July 22, saying he backs the staff recommendation. Hart called lead line replacement "a state and federal public health mandate" and said the village should be a partner rather than placing the full burden on individual homeowners.

The split sets up a potential 3-3 tie if Fisher and Posthuma both side with Braden and Hart. In that scenario, Hart would cast a rare tie-breaking vote. Trustees indicated at the July 21 meeting that they expect to take a formal vote in August, though no specific date has been set.

What it means for homeowners

The village estimates about 300 homes still have lead service lines, roughly 5 percent of all water connections. Total replacement is projected at $6 million over a decade, with the full cost running about $20,000 per home, according to village records from the Tuesday, January 6, 2026, board meeting where trustees awarded a $168,000 design engineering contract to Christopher B. Burke Engineering. The private-side share that homeowners would actually pay has not been publicly broken out from that total.

Under the staff's preferred approach, the village would pay for the entire segment from the water main to the homeowner's shutoff valve and cover half the private-side cost up to $6,000. Even with that subsidy, Braden noted, residents would still face significant out-of-pocket expense.

Under the approach favored by Banke, Stifflear, and Byrnes, homeowners would bear the full private-side cost with no village assistance beyond the public-side replacement.

Context and history

Hinsdale's lead pipe problem is smaller than most suburbs because builders switched to copper in the late 1940s, and decades of teardown-and-rebuild activity replaced many old lines. By comparison, La Grange expects to replace two-thirds of its pipes at a cost of $68 million.

The board awarded the engineering contract in January and began discussing cost-sharing options at its Tuesday, May 19, meeting, when Stifflear requested data on how neighboring communities handle the split. At the Tuesday, June 9, meeting, trustees agreed they needed a decision by late summer to meet the state's 2027 implementation deadline for beginning replacements.

That June 9 meeting also brought a nearly 10 percent water rate increase and a doubling of the infrastructure maintenance fee from $15 to $30 per billing cycle, adding about $242 a year for the average family of three, according to the local weekly The Hinsdalean. That rate hike does not cover lead line replacement costs.

Banke told colleagues he replaced his own lead line in 1999 when he and his wife built an addition, and said he did not see why taxpayers should cover the cost for others. Hart countered that the village's historic preservation incentive program already uses public dollars on private property to advance a community purpose, and that lead line compliance fits the same principle.

What's next

The board is expected to vote in August. Residents can check the village calendar at villageofhinsdale.org for the confirmed meeting date and public comment sign-up details.