The City of Chicago’s FY2016 budget proposes to implement a monthly solid waste removal fee of $9.50 on households, which is projected to generate $62.7 million in new revenue.[1] Currently the City of Chicago spends approximately $244 million per year on solid waste removal services. The Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation currently provides solid waste removal services free of charge to approximately 600,000 households residing in single-family homes and apartment buildings of four…
The Civic Federation supports the City of Chicago’s proposed $7.8 billion budget and necessary property tax increase as a long overdue action to address the City’s public safety pension funding crisis. The total proposed property tax increase of $544.2 million over four years will be dedicated entirely to fund the Police and Fire pension funds. This unprecedented infusion of property taxes is a much-needed step toward stabilizing the City’s two worst-funded pension plans. The FY2016 budget…
On September 22, 2015, Mayor Rahm Emanuel released the City of Chicago FY2016 Budget, which includes a nearly $1.3 billion property tax levy, an increase of $427.7 million over the originally adopted FY2015 budget. The property tax levy would be dedicated to the Police and Fire pension funds. In addition, the Mayor has proposed a property tax exemption that would exclude homeowners of homes with a market value of $250,000 or less from the property tax increase. Although representatives from the…
Financial Indicators Report, FY2009 to FY2013 Financial Indicators Executive Summary, FY2009 to FY2013 This report uses nine indicators of financial condition to measure the relative financial performance of Chicago and 12 other major U.S. cities from FY2009 to FY2013, which marked the end of the Great Recession and beginning of recovery for most cities. The financial trends for Chicago, New York and Detroit were consistently less favorable on average than the other 10 cities during this time…
The City of Chicago recently released its Annual Financial Analysis for 2015. According to an executive order issued by Mayor Rahm Emanuel on May 20, 2011, the Office of Budget and Management is mandated to produce a financial analysis of the City budget by July 31st of each year. The report includes: A financial condition analysis that covers the previous ten years, including a discussion of key factors impacting the performance of the City’s revenue streams; A three-year baseline forecast…
UPDATE: On September 9, 2015, a lawsuit challenging the streaming services was filed on behalf of seven plaintiffs against the City of Chicago. The plaintiffs argue that because they subscribe to various streaming services, such as Netflix, Hulu and Spotify, they “are harmed because they must pay the tax,” on such services. The lawsuit also claims that the comptroller exceeded his authority to extend the tax, which they claim is a new tax, without a vote from the City Council. They also…
On June 17, 2015 the Chicago City Council approved the largest borrowing of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s tenure, totaling $1.1 billion. The issuance pays for the current costs of refinancing the City of Chicago’s variable rate debt, ending its outstanding swaps, extending the life of other long-term bonds and paying for a variety of judgements and settlements. Newly appointed Chief Financial Officer Carole Brown presented the Mayor’s debt restructuring plan to the Finance Committee on June 15, 2015.…
This annual brief provides a compilation of selected consumer taxes, including rates and descriptions, in place in the City of Chicago as of January 1, 2015. It includes such taxes as the sales tax, amusement tax, lease tax, hotel tax, liquor tax, restaurant tax, soft drink tax, wheel tax and parking tax. Click here for a chart of Selected Consumer Tax Rates in Chicago as of January 1, 2015.
In December 2010 the Illinois General Assembly passed and then Governor Quinn signed legislation (Public Act 96-1495) that created a new tier of pension benefits for public safety employees in Illinois hired on or after January 1, 2011, including Chicago police and firefighters. The legislation also significantly changed the City of Chicago’s employer contributions starting five years later in budget year 2016. The statutory schedule requires an increase in funding in 2016 of over $500 million…
UPDATE: Subsequent to the publication of this blog, House Bill 777 was amended to include provisions of the City’s proposal to extend the amortization of its Police and Fire pension funding through 2055 instead of 2040 as under current law. The legislation includes a 90% target for the systems’ funding ratios and a five-year ramp of lower payments leading into the new contribution schedule. _________________________________________________________________________________________…
