Cyndi Loza

Contractors now must register with Glen Ellyn before they work there, after the Village Board unanimously approved an ordinance dictating the new requirement at its meeting Monday.

The ordinance will require certain information — including licenses, surety bonds and certificates of insurance — to be collected from contractors before they can be issued a building permit. The rule will take effect Monday.

“It’s an additional protection for the residents of the village and the property owners because it, No. 1, allows us to collect information of the contractors that are going to be doing work in the village and provide some additional security that the village or the residents can draw on should the contractor not perform as they were supposed to,” Glen Ellyn Planning and Development Director Staci Hulseberg said.

Trustee and general contractor Peter Ladesic said the regulation was much needed to protect the village and its residents from unscrupulous contractors. He said there have been instances in the past when contractors would prey on people, often senior citizens, only to later “sell them down the river.”

“But, that can happen to anyone, for one, and there’s been instances where contractors have started projects in town and they can go on for several years without being finished,” Ladesic said.

Board members first discussed the possibility of a contractor registration process in November.

The annual fee for registration is $100 for a general contractor and $50 for an independent contractor.

According to the ordinance, a general contractor “is a contractor who employs or manages the work of one or more independent contractors. A general contractor may also be the developer, builder, construction manager or property owner.”

An independent contractor “is a contractor who only manages his own work or the work of his own employees and performs one trade or craft. Independent contractors are generally contracted by a property owner, owner’s agent or building occupant or subcontracted by a general contractor.”

Approximately $50,000 in annual revenue is estimated to be collected from the contractor registration regulation, village officials said.