In an analysis released today, the Civic Federation announced it supports the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District’s Tentative FY2016 budget of $1.21 billion. The District proposes a reasonable, balanced budget while maintaining ample reserves and continuing to be fiscally responsible by properly funding its pensions and prefunding its retiree health benefits. The full 55-page analysis is available here. The FY2016 budget includes the maximum property tax increase allowed under state law…
Accommodates Increased Pension Contributions and Holds Property Tax Levy Relatively Flat In an analysis released today, the Civic Federation supports the Chicago Park District’s proposed FY2016 operating budget of $458.1 million. The budget proposal reduces the District’s reliance on one-time revenue sources and accommodates increased employer pension contributions for the second year in a row while holding the property tax levy relatively flat. The full 60-page analysis is available here. “…
The Civic Federation supports the Chicago Park District’s proposed FY2016 operating budget of $458.1 million that reduces the District’s reliance on one-time revenue sources and accommodates increased employer pension contributions for the second year in a row while holding the property tax levy relatively flat. The budget balances the demands of increased pension funding while showing restraint in not unduly increasing the tax burden on Chicago residents. However, a pending lawsuit…
In the absence of a budget for FY2016, the State of Illinois is moving forward with a plan to issue debt through the Illinois Finance Authority to fund some essential operating expenses. However, the loans could cost the State millions in interest over the next 10 to 20 years based on information being circulated by the IFA to potential underwriters for the bonds. According to procurement documents on the IFA website, the Authority currently has statutory approval to issue $115 million in…
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) recently released its FY2016 proposed budget. While the Civic Federation traditionally analyzes features common to all local government budgets, our analyses of the Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) budgets include a review of the Authority’s productivity measurement data. The Civic Federation uses expenditures, ridership and miles traveled data provided by the CTA to gain insight into changes in productivity. The Civic Federation uses two measures to assess…
This article discusses the Chicago Transit Authority’s proposed FY2016 budget in advance of the November 16 budget hearing. It cites the Civic Federation’s FY2016 CTA Budget Analysis. The analysis supports the budget overall but warned against relying on funding from Illinois, particularly given that the CTA did not receive its full State subsidy in FY2015.
This article discusses a blog post by the Illinois Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability that reviews preliminary estimates for contributions to the State of Illinois’ five pension funds in the next budget year. Contributions will increase by $288.8 million in FY2017, which is considerably less than the $682 million increase required in FY2016, but is still expected to put pressure on the State’s finances given ongoing fiscal uncertainty without an FY2016 budget.
This article reviews a borrowing plan for the State of Illinois that would pay for State bills by issuing bonds with funds withdrawn from Illinois Finance Authority Board investments. The Civic Federation said the plan is indicative of the State’s inefficient operations, and any additional borrowing only exacerbates Illinois’ debt.
This article discusses the ongoing budget impasse in Illinois—the State is now in its fifth month without a budget. It uses information from the Civic Federation’s FY2016 State of Illinois Budget Roadmap to analyze the rise in the State’s backlog of unpaid bills following the decline in revenue the State experienced beginning January 1, 2015, due to the partial rollback of the Illinois income tax.
Reasonable Plan for Next Year, but Underfunded Pensions Remain a Concern In an analysis released today, the Civic Federation announced it supports the Forest Preserve District of Cook County’s proposed FY2016 budget of $190.3 million. The District proposes a reasonable, balanced budget without using fund balance reserves for operations while holding the District property tax levy relatively flat. The full 57-page analysis is available here. “The Civic Federation is pleased to see the Forest…
