The Civic Federation's legislative priorities for 2007 include public pension reform, property tax exemptions and assessment reform, revision of the Regional Transportation Authority Act, tax increment financing disclosure, timely county audits, and other post employment benefit trust fund authorization.
The Civic Federation offers qualified support for Cook County’s FY2007 Budget based on the County’s plan to meet its 502 million dollar budget deficit with substantial spending cuts rather than tax increases. The Civic Federation opposes, however, the County’s plan to borrow 104 million dollars to make its FY2007 pension contribution, and calls upon the County to implement an effective performance measurement system in order to improve the County’s budgeting process.
The Civic Federation supported the MWRD's FY2007 Budget because it minimizes the burden on taxpayers and implements sound financial planning techniques. Notably, the MWRD has adopted a policy establishing an irrevocable trust for funding its Other Post Employment Benefit liabilities (e.g., retiree health care), and is appropriating 10 million dollars for this purpose in FY2007. The District is one of the few governments in Illinois that has moved beyond the question of how to report OPEB…
The Civic Federation supported the Chicago Park District's FY2007 Budget because the District did not raise its property tax levy this year, and has held down operating costs through a combination of careful management practices, privatization of services, and public-private partnerships. However, the Federation was concerned by a decline in health of the District's pension fund, exacerbated by a recent reduction in District pension contributions. The Federation also cautioned that the…
Based on data from its new, comprehensive analysis of the "7 percent cap", the Civic Federation maintains its support for extending the property tax exemption through tax years 2006-2008 at its current maximum exemption level of twenty thousand dollars in taxable value. The Federation cautions, however, that it is a stop-gap measure and not a substitute for comprehensive property tax reform.
The Civic Federation supports DuPage County's FY2007 budget because the County has reduced spending by over twenty-five percent since 2003, and has focused on cost reduction before seeking revenue increases. The Civic Federation cautions against any future policy of relying on property tax increases as the first line of attack for balancing the budget, and urges the County to explore consolidation and privatization, and to improve its budget transparency.
The Civic Federation opposes the CTA's FY2007 budget because it relies on 110 million dollars in additional state support which has not been guaranteed, and provides no detailed contingency plan. The Federation recommends that the CTA seek relief in Springfield from some collective bargaining constraints that have failed to address the CTA's enormous employee pension and benefit costs.
The Civic Federation supports the Forest Preserve District's proposed 164.5 million budget because the District has made important steps toward professionalization of its operations, including the issuance of a Capital Improvement Plan. The Federation makes a number of recommendations on ways to improve the financial management of the District.
The Civic Federation supports the City of Chicago's proposed $5.7 billion budget but has serious concerns about the poor health of the City's pension funds and the low level of reserve funds for contingencies.
This report compares property tax rates in selected communities around metropolitan Chicago, and finds that the effective rate for most communities studied fell between 1999 and 2004.
