UPDATE: On Monday, November 9, 2015, Cook County Board President Preckwinkle called a special meeting of the Board of Commissioners to address the Hotel Accommodations Tax. On Friday November 6, 2015, the Civic Federation discussed a Hotel Tax based on net receipts; however, the ordinance introduced to the Board indicates that the 1.0% tax will be on gross receipts which will change the effective tax rates discussed previously and are shown in the table below. Because four levels of government…
One Percentage Point Sales Tax Increase Unreasonable Given Alternatives In a report released today, the Civic Federation announced it could not support Cook County’s proposed FY2016 budget of $4.5 billion because it is based on a one percentage point increase in the County’s sales tax that will make the City of Chicago an outlier compared to other major urban centers with a composite rate of 10.25%. Most of the sales tax revenue collected in FY2016 will be dedicated to an increased…
The Civic Federation cannot support Cook County’s proposed FY2016 budget of $4.5 billion because it is based on a one percentage point increase in the County’s sales tax approved on July 15, 2015 that will make the City of Chicago an outlier compared to other major urban centers with a composite rate of 10.25%. While the Federation supports the County’s efforts to increase pension funding, the magnitude of the sales tax increase is not reasonable given the other available revenue and…
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…
This article reviews the Civic Federation’s analysis of the FY2016 City of Chicago Budget released October 14 in advance of a City Council hearing on the budget. The analysis supported the budget for addressing the City’s public safety pension funding crisis, but urged the City to consider greater cost savings and efficiencies to minimize the future burden on taxpayers.
This segment discusses the Civic Federation’s FY2016 City of Chicago Budget Analysis released on October 14. The analysis supported the budget for addressing the City’s public safety pension funding crisis, but warned that there is no public plan for two significant potential FY2016 expenses: inaction on Senate Bill 777 and a court ruling against the City over the phase-out of its retiree healthcare subsidy.
This article covers the Civic Federation’s October 14 analysis of the FY2016 City of Chicago budget. The Federation supports a proposed property tax hike of $544.2 million over four years to address the City’s public safety pension funding crisis, but warns greater sacrifice will be needed due to continued deficit projections for the City of Chicago, liquidity issues and future deficit projections for Chicago Public Schools, and dangerously low funded levels for the City’s non-public safety…
Cautions that plan is subject to significant uncertainty pending decisions on pension and retiree health care reform In a report released today, the Civic Federation announced its support for the City of Chicago’s proposed FY2016 budget of $7.8 billion and applauded long overdue action to address the City’s public safety pension funding crisis. However, the Federation is concerned the property tax increase alone is not enough to stabilize Chicago finances, especially given continued legal…
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…
