Doing more than just screaming
Tuesday, Mar 10, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Keep in mind that a whole lot of mayors (including Chicago’s former mayor) opposed the income tax hike. And now that the hike has mostly expired, the mayors are screaming bloody murder because the governor has proposed cutting their revenue sharing money in half. Well, he’s gotta go somewhere, and you go where the money is…
Suburban mayors testified before an Illinois Senate hearing Monday that a proposed reduction to their share of state income taxes could mean drastic cuts to public services like police and fire protection, or an increase in local property taxes.
Gov. Bruce Rauner has proposed cutting half the money municipalities receive every year from income taxes as one part of a budget proposal aimed at addressing the state’s troubled finances. He’s argued many towns have healthy reserve funds that can be used to cover the loss of income tax revenues.
Municipalities across the state currently share in a pool of 8 percent of income taxes. Rauner’s proposal would set that at 4 percent starting July 1.
Mayors from across the suburbs filled a senate appropriations committee hearing room in downtown Chicago to express their opposition to Rauner’s plan.
* And…
The City of Quincy formally adopted a resolution at Monday night’s City Council meeting urging Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner and the General Assembly to fully fund the Local Government Distributive Fund. The fund provides the city some $4,000,000 annually, and the Republican governor wants to cut the fund by some 50%.
According to Quincy Mayor Kyle Moore, “those are funds that our citizens earn and then go back to their local government bodies to provide essential services like police, fire and infrastructure. The Governor is proposing reducing that in half, which is a $2,000,000 cut, or a 6% decrease in our overall budget, and that would be devastating for the city of Quincy.”
Compounding the problem for the city is the fact that the city’s fiscal year starts May 1st, and the General Assembly will likely not adopt a final state budget until a date close to July 1st. Moore says the city will not pass a temporary budget for 2-3 months, to wait and see what the state does. “We have to prepare for a worst-case scenario, and every indication out of Springfield is that cities and counties will take some hit in next year’s budget, so we have to prepare for a reduction in our revenue”.
* I could go on forever because there are tons of related stories online that were published just in the past three days. Bing/Google “Rauner” and “Mayor” to see them all.
It’s the opinion of quite a lot of people I know that this particular proposed cut will put huge pressure on lawmakers in both parties to increase state taxes. Mayors have a lot of sway over legislators, and quite a few legislators were local government officials in previous lives.
* But Lake County has come up with a few interesting ideas for getting itself out from under some state mandates. Now, not all of these ideas are great, but some are worth a look. From a press release…
As Governor Bruce Rauner forms a special task force to examine unfunded mandates imposed on local governments, Lake County Board Chairman Aaron Lawlor sent a list of more than a dozen specific items for the group to consider that would save Lake County taxpayers millions. The list is a result of a comprehensive analysis of the hundreds of state mandates imposed on county governments.
Governor Rauner issued an executive order in February creating the Local Government and Consolidation and Unfunded Mandate Task Force, which is chaired by Lt. Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti and includes representatives of units of local government, school districts, and State representatives.
Lake County’s list covers mandates that could be reconsidered, as well as opportunities for consolidation and other efficiencies. The immediate cost savings identified in the report add up to $2.1 million, and millions more in ongoing savings related to restructuring compensation packages and workers’ compensation reform. In addition, the State requires certain notices be published in the newspaper and requires local governments to store hard copies of records rather than electronic copies – requirements that are antiquated, inefficient, and costly. Also, recent election law changes now require voter registration in every polling place on Election Day, grace period registration, and early voting at a cost of $1 million to Lake County.
* From the report…
The County is required to retain various paper records, which have to be stored and managed (at a cost). For example, Accounts Payable paid invoices are scanned into our financial system prior to payment, but also are required to be kept in the paper form for seven years.
The County is required to place certain records on microfilm or microfiche. There are much more efficient technologies available today which are just as effective at indexing and organizing in a more economical fashion. Changing this mandate could save the County approximately $185,000 annually. […]
Revenues generated at the jail commissary are deposited into the Inmate Welfare Fund. This fund has a large, and growing, fund balance, but the State mandates that these funds can only be used for the benefit and welfare of inmates, and not on the basic costs of incarceration.
Currently, the County spends in excess of $2 million annually on the medical care of inmates and is unable to access inmate welfare funds to offset these costs. Allowing the use of inmate welfare funds for the cost of basic medical care would help defray the cost of inmate care and reduce the use of tax dollars.
Etc.
- Formerly Known As... - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 12:20 pm:
Well done, Mr Lawlor.
As for the others? We want ==shared sacrifice=, just ==not in my back yard=. Sheesh.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 12:25 pm:
To: Owl Sandack,
From: Mayor Sandack
RE: Muni Revenue Share
“Who” are you kidding?
“Who”?
- Formerly Known As... - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 12:32 pm:
==but the State mandates that these funds can only be used for==
In the state does so well following their own restrictions on fund use.
- Steven Simpson-Black - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 12:32 pm:
People are gonna get what they voted for. Hope they realized it would affect them, too.
- the Other Anonymous - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 12:37 pm:
I’m against the cuts in LGDF, but I do applaud Lake County for their proposals. Government should be making those sorts of changes regardless of fiscal pressures.
It’s not a substitute for LGDF, and it has nothing to do with the budget crisis. A lot of the ideas are just good government.
- thechampaignlife - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 12:39 pm:
===The County is required to place certain records on microfilm or microfiche===
Only because that is what they have requested on their (presumably outdated) retention schedule. IAC 4000.70(a) states “Analog records may not be destroyed in favor of digital surrogates unless the digital surrogates are produced in compliance with this Section and unless done pursuant to a retention schedule approved by the Commission” (http://ilga.gov/commission/jcar/admincode/044/044040000000700R.html). Lots of agencies keep records in electronic-only form either as born-digital or scans (with the paper destroyed). All they need to do is submit an updated retention schedule to the Local Records Commission and they should be good to go within a month.
- Juvenal - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 12:46 pm:
They aren’t going to get the commissary funds, nor should they. Let county government get the commissary funds and a pack of gum will cost $10.
- MrJM - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 12:47 pm:
“So the guy in Lake County who does the hard work to put the records on microfilm and is out of a job, where will he go to work?”
Sounds like he could register voters.
– MrJM
- Precinct Captain - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 12:53 pm:
Half the savings is from axing things to make voting more accessible. Crushing open and accessible democracy is hardly the way to go.
- Bogey Golfer - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 12:53 pm:
@Bob- so we’re better off not embracing a more efficient means of doing something so that we can employ more. Using that logic we should insist on hand-digging house foundations instead of using a backhoe. Brilliant!!
- Shemp - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 12:57 pm:
LGDF cuts would be easier to swallow for cities if
-Interest arbitration was significantly changed
-Work comp laws were changed. Ridiculous rates, particularly for fire (over 20% of salary)
-Reduce the number of mandatory collective bargaining topics
-either increase public safety retirement age and/or increase employee contributions
-consolidate local police and fire pensions into a program like IMRF
-allow for combined police/fire departments (see Michigan)
-Give police and fire hiring/testing/promotions control to City staff rather than commissions
-Reduction in record keeping requirements
-Adopt realistic prevailing wage rates (still can’t get anyone at IDOL to give me a straight answer on how they are calculated)
-Drop some of the contract bidding requirements that have driven the little guys in the contracting business out of government work (like the apprenticeship requirement). Lost a low bid on a project due to a missed signature on a page about minority compliance when IDOT reviewed bids once.
-Allow non-home rule city councils more latitude in revenue generation (video gaming fees, food-bev taxes, sales tax rates, fine structures for minor violations)
Do those things right and you could eliminate LGDF altogether and I wouldn’t complain, well, much.
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 1:04 pm:
I like it when people not only identify what they are against, but also identify alternative solutions. Good for Lake County.
- Chris - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 1:25 pm:
“Half the savings is from axing things to make voting more accessible. Crushing open and accessible democracy is hardly the way to go.”
Republican governor pushing party priorities…
- Arizona Bob - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 1:53 pm:
It’s interesting to note that suburban communities typically lose a lot more of their tax dollars than they receive back from the state. When state income taxes go up, there’s less money in their peoples’ pockets. Those asking for income taxes to be increased to keep their personal and political gravy flowing clearly are more interested in their power to “dole” than protect their communities. The sensible thing for them to do would be to explain to the voters that they’re better off funding their needs themselves rather than getting back about 75 cents for every income tax dollar sent to Springfield.
Why don’t they adapt and do this?
What scares municipal and school pols the most is getting the attention of their communities for how they spend tax money and justifying the prudency of the spending.
For example, how do you tell voters that you “need” more tax dollars when they’ve been giving more than COLA raises and handing out early retirement golden parachutes? How about construction and maintenance work of questionable vakue given out without competitive bid, and it “just happens” that those getting the contracts are cronies of the pols?
It’s said that “Sunshine” is the best disinfectant, and few pols want to be “disinfected” from patronage, cronyism and corruption like that in COD.
- Georg Sande - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 1:54 pm:
Aaron Lawlor gets it, as do other local leaders. LGDF money has been threatened for many years. Some choose to annually pout. Thoughtful local leaders saw this coming and started planning and/or are leveraging this to reduce mandates.
http://www.rebootillinois.com/2015/03/10/editors-picks/madeleinedoubek/local-government-officials-are-the-ones-screaming-nimby-now/34528/
- Louis G Atsaves - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 1:55 pm:
The Lake County proposals are an excellent start and I commend Aaron Lawlor for his efforts. Now if all other affected agencies, social agencies, contractors and governments would concentrate on finding cost cutting solutions to problems that would minimize or avoid services being cut, then a budget solution would be closer than it is right now.
- Shemp - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 2:26 pm:
You can shine all the light you want on our general fund where the LGDF goes. You’ll see the majority is labor and associated costs (wages, overtime, holiday pay, health ins, work comp ins, pensions, required testing/training, etc). Aside from the more well to do suburbs, I think you will find the same story elsewhere all around the downstate. There are no extras.
But hey, I did offer up my own list, but I know I am living in a fairy tale land if I think any of those even have a prayer of being adopted, let alone most of that slate of options.
You can’t shackle someone, then tell them to stand on their own.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 2:35 pm:
I hate to try to solve a problem here but it appears that our units of local government are unaware of the Illinois Electronic Commerce Security Act (5 ILCS 175/. This act basically allows for electronic version for all laws and rules on the books that require document “in writing” or paper forms.
(5 ILCS 175/5-115)
Sec. 5-115. Electronic records.
(a) Where a rule of law requires information to be “written” or “in writing”, or provides for certain consequences if it is not, an electronic record satisfies that rule of law.
Just saved Lake County $185K! See how easy that is.
- zatoichi - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 2:57 pm:
“many towns have healthy reserve funds that can be used to cover the loss of income tax revenues.”
And I thought a good reserve was the sign of a good business operation. The new rule must be minimize your reserves and live on the edge otherwise you just get cut. That builds cooperation, trust, and team building.
- MyTwoCents - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 3:03 pm:
Electronic vs. hard copy vs. microfilm/microfiche retention is a big topic in the archival world and it’s hardly as easy as “go all electronic and save money.” It basically boils down to what is the best means for storing records so that they can be viewed the easiest. Microfilm/microfiche all you need is a light and a magnifying glass to view, electronic records you get into discussions of types of media and file types and whether they will still be usable technology in 5, 10, however many years. That being said, I could see some changes being made, particularly for shorter term records where it is less likely that technology will render the records unreadable.
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 3:21 pm:
==Microfilm/microfiche all you need is a light and a magnifying glass to view==
It’s 2015 not 1915. There is no reason in the world that all records cannot be kept in an electronic format in this day and age. We are currently in the process of imaging all of our records for retention. All paper and microfiche is being destroyed. It’s time consuming and labor intensive to retrieve records that are requested. Digitize them and you pull them up in seconds.
- A guy - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 3:37 pm:
Munis that were able to prepare for this, have been. I think Lake County has taken an important and constructive step forward with their approach. Hope to see more of the same elsewhere.
It would be less stressful for any muni not to have to depend on the state for any steady stream of revenue. This has been coming up for at least 8 or 9 years now as the state financial situation has become more dire. There are only so many pots with this level of revenue in it. It won’t fall off the radar.
In some cases, this will cause a lot of harm. In all cases, there will be very serious budget discussions. Removing a number of mandates might look good to a lot of towns. They might even wind up ahead in some cases.
When a town says it will immediately compromise safety (as there is NO other place to cut), some of those local folks will get some pressure for always defaulting to that in their screaming points.
This revenue will be on the chopping block forever until it isn’t there anymore. Hopefully all towns will plan for that inevitability.
- Boris - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 4:25 pm:
I hate to try to solve a problem here but it appears that our units of local government(Or at least lake county) are unaware of the Illinois Electronic Commerce Security Act (5 ILCS 175/.) This act basically allows for electronic version of paper records for all laws and rules on the books. It has been on the books for 10-15 years. No microfilm or paper copies needed. Also allows for electronic signatures.
(5 ILCS 175/5-115)
Sec. 5-115. Electronic records.
(a) Where a rule of law requires information to be “written” or “in writing”, or provides for certain consequences if it is not, an electronic record satisfies that rule of law.
i use to carry this around with me for years. When someone would tell me that we couldn’t do this or that electronicly, i would pull out this act. It quickly changed the conversation.
- Sue - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 4:28 pm:
Welcome to fiscal reality. Without pension reform local municipal budgets face severe cuts or huge tax property increases. Pick your poison
- anon - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 5:04 pm:
How many of these mayors opposed the Quinncome tax hike? Hypocrites should not have credibility when they complain about spending cuts.
- Lake County Laker - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 5:29 pm:
What is so praiseworthy about Lawler’s proposals? It’s standard Republican dogma: cut workers comp protections, clip wages, scale back on voter access measures, and even cut juror pay (because everyone Lawler knows works at a Fortune 500 and gets paid when they aren’t at work).
- Wordslinger - Tuesday, Mar 10, 15 @ 7:23 pm:
AB, you make an excellent argument for the pension cost shift to suburban and Downstate school districts.
Now that everyone’s taxes have been lowered, I’m sure clear-thinkers like yourself will be more than happy to assume the pension liabiltity for their school districts.
I suspect that’s something Rauner/Madigan/Cullerton will be able to come to an agreement upon once the Supremes finally end the pipe dream of weaseling out of contracted pension benefits.
Rauner’s already shown he’s willing to make a grab for muni money to increase state revenues. I imagine pushing off pension liability to local school districts will be attractive as well.
- Arizona Bob - Wednesday, Mar 11, 15 @ 7:56 am:
@WORD
Actually, I do think there should be a pension cost shift to local governing bodies such as schools. It only makes sense that the authorities that set salaries and benefits that form the basis for pension liabilities be made to foot the bill for their largesse.
Pension contributions should be part of compensation and subject to salary and benefit negotiations, NOT off the table and paid by state taxpayers.
It’s necessary that this shift in pension compensation be shared by both the employee and employer, since the state can no longer afford this overly generous subsidy.
Of course, to ensure that the ,local authorities are empowered to fairly share cost with employees, a strike prohibition must be enacted, or at least limited to issues of safety and working conditions, NOT compensation.
- Toure's Latte - Wednesday, Mar 11, 15 @ 9:48 am:
So the big debt-ridden bully looks around and sees the smaller less debt-ridden bully and takes their lunch money so the big bully can eat steak for one more meal.
Is this really what drives the supposedly good government owls in Springfield hooting about consolidation of taxing bodies: gimme yer money. Nothing more? Because that’s what it’s looking like.
Add onto that theft, the Owls want to freeze property taxes so the little bullies can’t beat up taxpayers for more money — because the big bullies want to save that for later too, with user fees and consumption taxes that will crush people on the edge.
Ahhh, but the Owls will also dangle municipal bankruptcy as way to screw not just the taxpayers, but the police and firemen too.
Who Who Who could be the Owl pushing all these horrible Rauner plans? Who?
My apologies for stealing your Owl nomenclature OW, but this is a bad situation being made worse by the pious. They need to be reminded the governor doesn’t legislate, and the ILGOP didn’t pick up a single House seat to support their current wave of bad decision making.
Good thing Madigan is still playing chess while the GOP plays fool’s poker.
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