Property values didn’t rise as much as the City of Peoria hoped they would, and that means less property tax revenue will be collected — $826,000 less, to be precise. To make up for this additional shortfall, more cuts are being made to the budget. The cuts primarily impact the police, fire, and public works departments, as usual.
Public Works is cutting $451,340 dollars they were going to use to purchase new vehicles. According to the Journal Star, that would have paid for three new trucks “used for snow plowing, removal of storm debris, hauling asphalt, etc.” David Barber says his department can manage without the new vehicles.
The police department will be giving up $90,000 in overtime. The fire department will be reducing their overtime budget by $45,072 and their clothing allowance by $26,815. Staffing is down in both departments, but especially in the police department, which took a big hit during last year’s budget crisis. Fewer cops means heavier reliance on overtime from the remaining officers to ensure everything is covered adequately. Now they’re cutting overtime, too.
And looming on the horizon is a predicted $10 million budget deficit for next year that will have to be filled with even more cuts and higher taxes/fees. Citizens will end up paying more for less service . . . again. I wonder if that’s at all related to the decline in sales and property tax receipts?
Peoria is cutting back on essentials like police and fire, while somehow forking over millions of dollars as a gift to a hotel developer. This is yet another great example of the City Council’s misplaced priorities.
The City problem is the same as the State problem, trying to cover high pensions and salary costs. If workers can retire at 50-55 and
live in this economy you are being paid too much. That’s the bottom line. I know of a lot of teachers, firemen, and police who retire at 55 and can live better than I can on their retirement salary. How’s that happen? If government wouldn’t spend more than what is coming in, keep making government bigger and bigger(adding more people), keep increasing pension benefits, and keep raising salaries by comparing to other city governments employees salaries when the economy is good or bad they wouldn’t be in this mess.
The cutbacks in fire and police are unrelated to any hotel money. No money has been “forked over” to any hotel developer as of today. When will this myth go away?
The city is doing itself no favors by cutting from fire and police. I would think the goal of the city would be to increase population and increase property values, which will not happen with reduced fire and police presence. Who wants to move to a city where crime will likely be rising? No one I know…
How does the FD cut overtime? shut down machines? I there is no one to staff a machine and no overtime to fill slot
if I give you a dollar from my bank account or my credit card it is still a dollar
The lack of a demand for city administrative and political accountability still baffles me. And I don’t mean a cursory demand for it, but a groundswell of anger over the lack of it.
Let’s look at the corroded steps along the river for a good example: any homeowner with a drop of common sense gets warranties or guarantees on any home improvement project to his or her home. So my question is, what has happened to the person or people that signed off on the expenditure for these stairs with an apparent warranty that is now coming back to haunt the taxpayer?
My point is, city residents, for some reason, still are not to the point of forcing these people to start doing the right things.
Terrible decisions after terrible decisions have been made by these people and citizens get hung up on things that keep distracting where the light needs to be shown: the choices made by those involved in one building in the city of Peoria – City Hall.
Frankly, we’d really be screwed if we didn’t have people like CJ who are willing to do the research and find stories like the corroded stairs (remember, he broke this story and the local media tripped over it and then had to report it).
Nobody has answered my question of how can you retire at 50-55 and make more than most people who are still working? Many of these people are retiring with 60-75% of their ending salary. That means if you were making $70,000 before retirement you will retire with $ 42-52,000 yearly benefit depending on how many years you worked. Some school administrators retire with over $ 100,000 yearly benefit. Their contributions during employment barely cover 3-5 years of their retirement salary. This is the same for other high retirement government workers who can retire at 50-55. However, not all government retirements are this lucrative and people can’t retire that early and have to wait till they can collect social security.
How can you retire with these benefits you ask?
Because the law says you can. Let me add that these people don’t draw social secuity either.
Justan, no dollars have been given to the hotel. Again, you are diluting some good arguments against the hotel with arguments that make no sense—and just aren’t accurate. Don’t hurt your credibility that way.
I think most of us know the mechanics of how the funding for the hotel project will work, D150 Observer. The bottom line is that the Citizens of Peoria will be on the hook if the funding doesn’t come out right, just as we currently are with Midtown Plaza. That monstrosity is tapping into the general fund, while the developer has no incentive to bring a new anchor in. I guess I’d like to see the same kind of passion and zeal to solve the issues plaguing our City that was shown for the hotel project at the last Council meeting.
Change the laws and start making them pay more of the benefit costs.
Quit legislating their retirement benefits so high that municipalities and schools can’t keep up with the cost of it. By the way, I haven’t
known too many of these people not get social security benefits in addition to their retirement by working another job when they are off. Most firemen have second jobs where they are paying into social security
well, than let’s not connect the hotel with current lay-offs. They have zero connection. Like I said, there are plenty of reasons to be against the Hotel project, but the current budget crisis is unrelated.
Teachers pay about 10% in for their pension. FYI.
It is kind of funny how a conversation about City of Peoria finances goes to Dist#150. I am not sure what the contract between teachers and Dist 150 calls for but here is part of a FAQ from the NEA website about teacher pensions:
“Teacher retirement plans are different than those for ESPs. In many states, teachers do not pay into Social Security and rely entirely upon their own Teacher Retirement System (TRS). In Illinois and about a dozen other states, teachers are exempt from Social Security and subject to offsets.
In most cases, the employee and employer make equal contributions toward the retirement plan totaling about 9.4 percent. But there are also contributions toward retirement health care, which vary according to the employee’s age and service years.”
I am not a teacher. For social security, my employer and I each currently pay 6.2% of my wages up to $106,800 into social security. My estimated social security benefit is far less than 75% of my average salary over the past five years. I will not be eligible for this benefit after 35 years of service and age 55, it will be closer 66 (full retirement age) which represents over 40 years of work.
Just like a teacher, I made a choice to enter my profession and understood the tradeoff between salaries, benefits, etc.
150. You are right about the hotel and other projects not being related to the current budget crisis. My arguement is do you think it is prudent for the city to be acting as developers in a time such as this. To be promising to fund millions from bonds which have to be paid back and in the same breath cutting millions from other basic services. You are absolutelly right about the hotel project and to be critical of many other items that surround it. I have said it before I think we need a hotel and I do believe that the city needed to be invovled, but this particular project is pretty skecthy and far fetched and does pose a significant risk. Now with that being said I hope it succeeds. I think it could have been done better, but it is what it is.
justan observer,
Careful…. You are getting that ‘this is better than nothing,’ syndrome again.
The hotel plans, financing, etc are all sketchy.
The museum plans, financing, etc are all [very] sketchy.
Plans, financing, etc to ‘fix’ riverfront problems… all very sketchy.
Plans to bring Peoria City budget up to parr…….? Non-existant.
I’m retiring and will receive 90% of my net salary. I paid into it for 35 years and will draw no SS. I am in my mid fifties. Think I’m gonna give it back because some snot has a problem with it? Doubtful. Same with police and fire. This set up for them didn’t come yesterday, it has been in place for years and years. Where were you 40 years ago pdman?
Justan, I am 50-50 on the hotel project. I understand the criticism and I understand why the city needs to be involved.
The pensions that the city and state need to fund annually weren’t cost prohibitive to fund. The reason we are in a crisis is legislators didn’t fund them annually as they were obligated to…and now the liability has piled up.
pdman
In April, the state legislature passed a law changing the retirement age of pensioned employees from 55 to 67. And FYI, most in the (5) public state pension programs are not allowed to pay into or receive social security. There are still issues that need to be addressed, but changes are a comin’.
“I understand why the city needs to be involved”
Please explain.
Again, after reading the majority of the replies here only reinforces the base issue: no one in city of Peoria leadership is EVER held accountable for their terrible decisions.
Let’s try a little bit of recall: the gambling boat, Maloof’s behavior, the gender discrimination and accompanying legal fees and awards, the strong arm tactics on local businesses and accompanying legal bills (Eagle cleaners, the “third” restaurant on the Riverfront), terrible legal advice repeatedly, Midtown Plaza, Campustown, the Sears block, Southtown, et cetera, et ceterea.
But what do people focus on here? Giving these people a pass as usual.
Is there no one in upper management or decision making either in the city, District 150, the county or the state that can make reasonable financial decisions? No matter which direction you look in there are sketchy, ridiculous, outlandish, and just plain stupid financial decisions being made, all supposedly for our common good. How did these dolts get into positions or power with our money? And its our money regardless of whether it comes from the feds, state, county or city. Its all tax money out of our pockets and spread all over the country and being wasted no matter where its spent. What are we going to do about this and when are we going to do it? Its time to hold their feet to the fire and make them far more fiscally responsible. I’m sick of the blame game. WE ARE THE ONES RESPONSIBLE FOR LETTING THEM GET AWAY WITH ALL THIS MESS.
Of course there is, but the movers and shakers ignore them and if they speak out publicly, they are fired.
“WE ARE THE ONES RESPONSIBLE FOR LETTING THEM GET AWAY WITH ALL THIS MESS.”
Maybe the next Tea-Party get together will take aim at local govt., rather than pick on the state and fed. Soul saving starts at home…..
Another problem that the voters of Peoria will face when election time rolls around again…….who to vote for?
Voting incumbents out of ‘office’ is one thing, but having responsible candidates on the ballet is another? The notion of voting for the ‘lesser of two evils’ is age old in American politics. What we end up with is the ‘Aaron Schock’ phenomenon…… in order to get them out of office; you vote them into a higher office!
Did you know that George Washington officially spoke out AGAINST the original Boston Tea Party?
George who?
pdman,
City Police have a private pension fund that they pay the majority into. Yes the city does contribute as well, but most is contributed by the officers themselves which is why the state has been unable to get in and “borrow” from it. Officer’s can retire at 50 years old as long as they have 20 yrs on the job at 50% of their pay. They can retire at 75% of their pay if they have 35 yrs on the job. I can’t vouch for what the firefighters or afsme workers get, but to say the police pension is to blame for the city’s financial woes is not a fair statement.
Anonymous Cop — good summary but you made one substantial error in your statement of facts. The Police Officer does NOT pay the “majority” of the pension costs. Officers contribute a set percentage of their pay into the fund. The City is required to fund whatever remaining portion is required to fully fund the pension system. For most prior years, this annual amount has greatly exceeded the contributions from employees. If the pension funds investments do poorly (or even well but not as well as projected), the City is on the hook for the additional contributions — the employee has no risk.
So in some ways, pensions have contributed to the City’s problems because the City’s contribution continues to increase each year.
I thought that Peoria had a city manager and that the city manager should be making a few more of these money decisions as a business manager should?
Emtronics
Sorry I have been working and didn’t get back to you. I was in Jr. High 40 years ago by the way. I’m just a snotty little 50 year old trying to figuring out why we are in a mess. I don’t know about you but I can’t afford to have my taxes raised. I’m paying $ 3,800 property taxes now. How do you get 90% of your salary retiring? What a sweet deal. Cat pensions use to be like that, but not anymore. They have reduced and benefits cut. Can’t live on just the pension anymore. If your pension is a govenment one it has been set up and increased over the years by legislatures who have made our state broke. I’m glad you have a nice pension, but all I’m saying is something has to change for the future. Taxes will have to go up.
pdman, My elderly relative (90+) is still receiving the generous pension that Caterpillar promised him–and most of the benefits. Do you really wish to take away the benefits from government workers and retired teachers(after the fact–after the promise on which we based our plans for our retirement). How many of these people do you want on the street as beggars. I know that’s where I would be if my pension that I was promised was taken away. Also, I know that for many of the 43 years of my teaching career, most and/or all of the pension payments were taken out of my check each payday–much of my pension is backed with my own money. Of course, the state of Illinois has been borrowing (or stealing) from those pension funds (money which the workers set aside for themselves)for quite some time–but why should the workers be blamed or punished for that theft? I think the world has changed and probably future generations of government workers will be asked to maintain private retirement funds–but those of us who are retired (or close to retirement) can’t undo the way things were done in the past.