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Elgin is only the second city in the state to pass a resolution declaring a climate emergency, but acting on any initiatives to address the situation may be left up to voters, officials said.

“I look at it as recognizing it’s an emergency,” Mayor Dave Kaptain said of the resolution.

The city of Chicago adopted the same measure in February.

Deciding what steps Elgin should next take is the hard part, Kaptain said at last week’s Elgin City Council meeting. “I would recommend an advisory referendum to see if the city wants to pay for it and see what the residents want to do,” he said.

The decision to approve the resolution was not a unanimous one. Council members Toby Shaw, Rose Martinez and Terry Gavin voted against it.

A member of the Fox Valley Citizens for Peace and Justice presented the resolution to the Elgin Sustainability Commission, which recommended council approval, said Tom Armstrong, the commission’s incoming chairman.

“Cities and regions are on the front lines of climate change,” Armstrong said. The worst effects happen locally and vary from region to region, he said. “Local governments have a responsibility to respond.”

The resolution is based on a template being used worldwide as a symbol of a city’s commitment to curbing climate change. Elgin’s version includes having the commission establish a working group to research and recommend actions the city can take to “mitigate the impacts of climate change,” Armstrong said.

Declaring a climate emergency is a start, but actually taking action could cost anywhere from $80 million to $100 million, Kaptain estimated.

“How do we pay for this?” he asked. The city needs to make sure it can fund the costs associated with taking action, and recommended the commission develop a budget and prioritize its goals.

An advisory referendum asking voters if and how the city should fund climate change reforms would help set a direction, the mayor said.

“If we actually want to back up these words with any action, you will bankrupt the city of Elgin,” Councilman Toby Shaw said. “We don’t have enough money in our budget to put into this type of initiative” into action, he said.

He also isn’t a believer in climate change. “I think it’s a good political statement for those who believe in this theory, but I cannot support it,” Shaw said. “I just don’t think this has been thought through at all.”

Councilman Terry Gavin agreed with Shaw. He doesn’t accept the concept that if nothing is done about climate change “we will all perish in 10 years,” he said. Scientists don’t uniformly agree about the timetable or outcome, he said.

“Science is not a consensus. It’s fact. It’s either yes or no,” Gavin said. “I will not support this because I think it has tentacles in the city’s treasury.”

Councilwoman Tish Powell said said she believed both in climate change and the need to address it locally.

“I know it may be a stretch for those of you who are not necessarily on board of climate change or don’t believe in it,” Powell said. “But there are a lot of us who do believe that climate change is real, and we should be taking affirmative action where we can improve our community and the world we live in.”

Elgin has a Sustainability Action Plan, adopted in 2011, that has provided the city with ways to create a more sustainable community environment, she said. The city has already taken some steps, like moving away from using pesticides and herbicides in city parks, she said.

“I look forward to the Sustainability Commission coming forward with additional items that we can consider as a city,” Powell said.

For some council members, the resolution was a way for Elgin to continue being innovative and a leader in sustainability.

“We’re not asking for any action to be taken immediately,” Councilman Baldemar Lopez said. “But this is an opportunity for the commission to go back and do further analysis on how our city can address issues regarding climate change.”

“I am standing in support of this initiative,” Lopez said. “I think we’ll take a measured course and a very deliberate course in terms of implementation. This has the opportunity to have a significantly positive effect on our community.”

Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.