Village of Arlington Heights Illinois

Dear Resident,

On behalf of the Village Board, thank you for choosing the Village of Arlington Heights as your home!  More than 75,000 residents find Arlington Heights a great place to live and have enjoyed its strong sense of community!

The citizens of Arlington Heights are proud of their community.  That pride and community spirit is the core of what makes Arlington Heights a friendly and vibrant Village.  Arlington Heights features beautiful residential neighborhoods, a thriving business community and abundant cultural entertainment.

This Village, with its rich history that dates back to the 1850s, has always been visionary.  Through centuries of growth, the focus has been to build a premier community that provides a quality of life that is second to none.  Today, Arlington Heights is a community of healthy cultural arts, year-round activities, excellent municipal services, a great mix of retail, restaurant, entertainment and service-oriented businesses, a nationally recognized Park District comprised of 58 parks, one of the largest libraries in the area, excellent school districts, an exceptional local hospital, and much more!

Arlington Heights has numerous awards and designations recognizing its excellence in areas such as public safety, the environment and economic development.  Recently, our Village was named an International Safe Community by the National Safety Council's Safe Communities America.  The award recognizes the community's efforts in addressing the leading safety concerns facing its residents and business owners.  

Thank you for utilizing our Village's website, which is your "virtual Village Hall."  The site offers immediate access to the information you need, convenient online payment programs and ability to email concerns to Village Staff.  Sign up for our Village's e-News to receive important notices and reminders regarding programs and services.  For events that are planned or a listing of places to dine, shop and be entertained, check our Shop.Dine.Play section.

If you have any questions or would like more information, our staff would be pleased to assist you.

Sincerely, 

Thomas W. Hayes

Council-Manager form of Government
Arlington Heights has operated under the council-manager form of government since 1954.  Under this system, the strong political leadership of elected officials in the person of the Village President and board of Trustees is combined with the strong administration direction of the Village Manager, the appointed chief administrator of the Village Government.  The Village President is commonly referred to as the Mayor.

The council-manager plan is intended to provide for the maximum amount of participation by citizens.  The voters elect the Village Board to govern their community, and the Board chooses the Village Manager to carry out its decisions.  

Village Board
The Mayor and eight Trustees comprise the Village Board.  They are elected at-large on a non-partisan basis for staggered four-year terms.

The Village Board meets the first and third Mondays of the month in a formal session.  To expedite the handling of business coming before it, the Village Board typically meets as a Committee-of-the-Whole on the second Monday of the month for in-depth review of subject matters and discussion.

One of the most important programs undertaken by the Village Board on an annual basis is the Village Budget.  Through the budgetary process, plans for the next fiscal year are formulated.  The community's leadership creates a plan for the Village to achieve its desired results in the upcoming fiscal year, which begins May 1 of each year.

Mayor's Role
The Mayor presides over all meetings of the Village Board and is the recognized official head of the Village for all legal purposes.  The Mayor is a leader in developing community policies and works with other Board members to form these policies and interpret them to the public.  The Mayor represents the Village at official functions, appoints members to the Village's Boards and Commissions with the advice and consent of the Village Board, and maintains contact with other governmental agencies and civic groups.

Village Manager's Role
The Village Board hires the Village Manager to serve as the board's full-time executive.  The Manager brings to the community the benefits of training and experience in administering a local government's staff, its projects, and its programs.  

The Village Manager prepares the annual budget at the direction of the Village Board, which reviews, and approves it in its final form.  Other responsibilities of the Manager include enforcing laws and ordinances, appointment of Village employees, administrative control over departments, attending all meetings of the Board, and makes necessary purchases and performs such duties as may be required by ordinance, resolution, or direction of the Board of Trustees.

Your Village government is here to serve you!  This checklist provides key information you will need to familiarize yourself with as you get settled in your new community.

Your Village Hall 
Located at 33 S. Arlington Heights Road, at the northeast corner of Sigwalt and Arlington Heights Road.  Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday; the Building & Life Safety Department has adjusted hours of 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month.  Emergency services are available 24/7 by calling 911.  Village Hall can be reached at 847.368.5000.  A municipal parking garage is connected to the building and parking is available in any of the blue-marked Visitor spaces and in the Visitor spaces in the surface lot south of Village Hall.

Village News
Get Connected to the Village and sign up for our e-Newsletter.  Additionally, Village News can be found under the Our Community menu of our site.  And we'd love for you to follow us on our Social Network platforms!

Vehicle Stickers
A Village vehicle sticker is required per Village Ordinance and can be purchased at the front counter of the Finance Department in Village Hall.  Once a sticker is purchased you will be able to purchase annual stickers through our website or a mail-in order form that will be sent to you from the Finance Department. New residents have 30 days to purchase and display a Village vehicle sticker.

Refuse Collection
Once-a-week Refuse Collection is provided per the Village's contract with Groot Recycling and Waste Services, or you can elect to have twice-a-week collection.  All single-family residences in Arlington Heights are required to maintain a current account with Groot.  Refuse, recycling and yard waste is picked up once a week.  Residents have the option for twice-a-week service; if desired, call 800.244.1977.  All single-family residences are provided with a 65-gallon cart for recycling and a 95-gallon refuse cart for garbage.  There is a one-time option to change, at nor charge, the size of the carts.  

If you live north of Oakton Street and west of Arlington Heights Road, your collection day is Monday.  If you live south of Oakton Street and west of Arlington Heights Road, your collection day is Tuesday.  If you live north of Oakton Street and east of Arlington Heights Road, your collection day is Thursday.  If you live south of Oakton Street and east of Arlington Heights Road, your collection day is Friday.

Residents cannot use their own garbage cans for palcing refuse at the curb.  Yard waste must be placed in 30-gallon paper bags.  Please visit Groot for pricing information and directions on how to dispose of yard waste, refuse and recyclables.  Call Groot to establish your service at 800.244.1977.  

Water Service
Water service must be established by calling Water Billing at 847.368.5520.  The rate charged for the Lake Michigan water and related sewer service is $8.04 per 1,000 gallons and you will be billed once every two months for the service.  When setting up your service, be sure to inquire about the automatic Billing Payment program.  The Village has converted to an electronic water meter reading system; only the inside meter attached to the water supply measures and records water consumption.  

Overnight Parking
Overnight parking on Village streets between the hours of 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. is prohibited unless you receive special permission from the Police Department.  If you or your guests anticipate the need to park on the street overnight, call the Police Department at 847.368.5300.

Sewer Line
If the sewer line of your home is not functioning, please call the Public Works Department at 847.368.5800, weekdays between 7 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.  A Village employee will inspect the sewer main to determine whether the problem is the Village's responsibility.  After hours, or on weekends, call the Police desk at 847.368.5300.  If the problem is the resident's service line, a licensed and bonded plumbing company should be contacted at once to see if the sewer is functioning properly.  A resident's service line runs from their home to the point of connection to the Village's sewer main.  

Cable Television
Cable services that are available in Arlington Heights include:

• AT&T U-Verse or DirecTV.  Check availability for your neighborhood at AT&T or call 800.288.2020.
• Comcast | Xfinity.  Visit Comcast Xfinity or call 800.266.2278.
• WideOpenWest.  Visit WOW or call 866.496.9669.

The Village's Government Access channel is on Channel 1 of AT&T; Channel 17 of Comcast; and Channel 6 of WOW.

Health Screenings
Health Screening clinics are offered through the Health & Human Services Department and include screenings for hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol, and TB as well as immunization clinic for children up to age 18.  The Health & Human Services Department also manages the influenza vaccination program.  Visit our Health, Human & Disability Services page for a list of all services offered.

Public Safety Services
A strong and prosperous community begins with engaged and protected residents, and the Village of Arlington Heights takes the safety of our residents and community seriously.  Learn about the things we are doing for Animal Control, Emergency Management and Fire Prevention, Safety & Education.  We also offer CPR classes and a Citizens Policy Academy, and encourage you to sign up for Citizen Alerts and Citizen Observer through Reverse 9-1-1.

Learn more about the Public Safety Services provided for the community by the Village.  And we truly welcome your feedback!  If you have any suggestions as to additional services you'd like to see offered for the community, please contact us!

Senior Center
The Arlington Heights Senior Center, located at 1801 W. Central Road, serves people age 55 and over.  Amenities include an indoor walking trail, woodshop, cafe, computer lab, reading room, billiards, gift shop, a lending closet of durable medical equipment and the Arlington Athletic Club.  Various programs, informational speeches, tax help and entertaining movies & events are also offered.  Services are also provided to homebound senior citizens.  Please visit our Senior Center page to learn more.

The Village Online
The Village offers several platforms to keep up with news, events and happenings.  Keep up with the latest news by visiting our What's New page, and Get Connected to us to view the Village calendar, sign up for our e-newsletter, or follow us on social media...you can find us on Facebook, Twitter, NextDoor, and Instragram.

And we are really excited with our latest online venture - - Arlington@Work!  Do you see a troubled tree?  A street light out or a rogue water spout??  With Arlington@Work, you can submit any issue you come across on our Citizen Request Form.  Powered by SeeClickFix with geo-tracking technology, you can upload a picture of the problem and we will receive the coordinates to help us get the problem resolved faster.

Village Board Meetings
Regular meetings of the Board are held on the first and third Monday of each month at 8 p.m. in the Board Room, located on the third floor of Village Hall.  The Board also typically meets as a Committee-of-the-Whole the second Monday of the month to help expedite business matters by discussing them in-depth.  The Village Board meetings are shown live on the Government Access channel and are re-broadcast several times a day until the next meeting.  Board meetings can also be viewed online as well as Board minutes and agendas.