Residents planning to buy a home generator and want to participate in the city’s reimbursement program have until Jan. 31 to submit an application at .
Des Plaines aldermen voted unanimously to end the program next month at the City Council’s meeting Monday, after more than $70,000 was spent on the program since September.
As of Dec. 2, 555 residents applied for rebates through the Home Generator Assistance Program. Many are still on a waiting list.
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Another $50,000 was allocated to the program in the 2012 budget, and all of that money will be used to reimburse applicants currently on the waiting list. About $30,000 more will be needed to fund all applications on the waiting list, said Jason Slowinski, acting city manager.
If council members approve the additional $30,000 to fund all the applications, the city will have spent more than $150,000 on reimbursements. That figure does not include waived permit fees for residents who install a permanent interior generator.
Aldermen did not say why they ended the program.
“It isn’t because the program is good or bad,” said Fourth Ward Alderman Dick Sayad, who initially sponsored the program.
Residents who had flooding and power outages after severe summer storms said they were dissatisfied and needed assistance, and city staff developed the generator rebate program over the summer.
Residents can apply for a $250 rebate for portable generator reimbursements or $400 rebate for a permanent, interior home generator.
Slowinski said he anticipates another 150 program applicants before the deadline. Residents installing home generators will have time after the deadline to install the generators.
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