May 13
The Daily Chronicle published my comments on this lovely Friday the 13th.
In Thursday’s editorial, “Egyptian worth the investment,” the Daily Chronicle’s editorial board asserted that an improved Egyptian Theatre would be a plus for downtown. I agree.
However, something’s been missed in the analysis: a peek into our collective wallet. Read the rest of this entry
May 10
Click on the image for a larger version, and once more for the largest.
Each “Decline” was calculated by subtracting Tax Year 2010 from the peak year shown. Usually the peak came in 2008, but not in all cases.
Should we really be budgeting new TIF projects for FY2012? Read the rest of this entry
May 10
The City of DeKalb FY2012 budget draft proposal (p. 23) says:
FY2012 Revenue Highlights:
Property Tax Revenues are expected increase approximately 4.35 percent due to a tax increase from 60 cents to 65 cents per $100 of equalized assessed valuation. It should be noted that revenues received from the property tax only go toward the City’s obligated pension costs. However since 2005, this rate has not funded those costs completely.
This statement is incorrect. The increase from .60 to .65 happened in Tax Year 2009 payable in 2010 for FY2011 budgeting. For Tax Year 2010, whose revenues will be collected in 2011 and applied to the FY2012 budget, the total rate increased again, to .68990. Join me for a document and a bombshell after the jump. Read the rest of this entry
May 8
| Taxing Body & Fiscal Year | Budget Estimate | 10/2010 Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| School Dist 428 -- 2011 | $1,038,658 | $1,795,083 |
| City of DeKalb -- 2011 | $750,000 | $221,800 |
| City of DeKalb -- 2012 | $670,000 | N/A |
The school district is allocating its share for debt service, while the City of DeKalb’s will be dropped into the General Fund.
One might ask why the city has projected $670,000 for FY2012 since the October estimates came in $528,200 under its preliminary estimates. At least two factors must be at play: the rise in city property tax from .60 to .65, and a rosy projection of 11.67% growth in sales taxes even though the reason for the October surplus estimate adjustments were made in response to a state notification that the sales tax portion would be reduced 22% due to a general drop in sales taxes.
Might make one wonder about other possible rainbows and unicorns in this budget draft.
Sources:
District 428′s FY10-11 budget, p. 6
City of DeKalb’s adopted FY2011 budget, pp. 22-24
City of DeKalb’s FY2012 draft budget proposal, pp. 22-24
City Barbs, “FY2011 TIF Surplus,” Distribution Reconciliation chart and letter from the city
May 7
Per an intergovernmental agreement, the City of DeKalb promised to declare a 50% surplus of the Central Area TIF (aka TIF 1) increment for each of the 12 years of the extended and amended TIF district. The surplus will be paid to all taxing bodies in the same proportions as the regular property taxes are, and includes a distribution of city sales taxes as well. The following documents are October 2010 estimates of the FY2011 end-of-year surplus and distribution totals. They were obtained from the school district along with a letter from the city explaining adjustments and procedures. Read the rest of this entry
May 6
The Daily Register has reprinted a recent article by the AP’s Zachary Colman.
LA SALLE, Ill. (AP) — One of the most popular rooms at LaSalle’s Dimmick Elementary School is the library-turned-computer-lab-turned-classroom. Children jostle for elbow room and can’t use the library at all when class is in session.
Down the hall, the school counselor and speech pathologist share an office that used to be a janitor’s closet. The gymnasium serves as storage space for school files and records.
Supt. Ryan Linnig blames the tight quarters at least partly on an economic development tool that shifts local tax money to developers. He estimates Dimmick has lost out on more than $405,000 since 1994 — $75,000 of it last year— through a state-created program for local communities called tax increment financing, or TIF.
May 5
TIFs aren’t just a tool for economic development. They’re a tool for consolidating power.
By Ben Joravsky and Mick Dumke, “Shedding Light on the Shadow Budget,” Chicago Reader.
May 4
Received this morning: this link to the Belleville News series of investigative reports on state employee’s Workers’ Compensation claims. The latest, published April 20, details the paper’s attempts to obtain information regarding successful claims.
Recent and upcoming opinions delivered by the Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor that pertain to Workers’ Comp-related Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests may have implications for our own efforts to understand Worker’s Comp in DeKalb better.
Meanwhile, here is a copy of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act (big PDF file!).
[H/T J.B.]
May 3
The proposed budget for fiscal year 2012 is now available. I’ve just begun reading it. Here are a few reactions so far.
[From the 2025 Vision Statement] Its downtown is the heart of the community…
Translation: We hate that the Super Wal-Mart is the closest thing DeKalb has to a town square. Read the rest of this entry
May 3
ReNew DeKalb wants to give more than $1 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) money to Preservation of the Egyptian Theatre.
Who doesn’t love the Egyptian? I love P.E.T.’s director and its board because they follow the rules, and because they try to provide events for every budget.
But we’ve given the Egyptian $592,500 since 2008. The Egyptian is starting to look like our airport in terms of handouts. And there’s still a recession on.
I think we’d all be better off using the TIF monies for more direct help with jobs. Job training and housing rehab are both TIF-eligible expenditures.