City Council, City of Peoria, Peoria Public Schools, Taxes

Don’t be fooled by empty rhetoric from City officials

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There’s an article in today’s Journal Star I just couldn’t let pass without comment.

City officials including Mayor Jim Ardis have … expressed some of their frustrations with other taxing bodies in Peoria — namely Peoria Public Schools District 150 — for increasing its property tax rate while the city avoids similar hikes despite increasing political pressure to do so.

Reporter John Sharp did a good job of covering what I’m about to say, but I just want to emphasize it: The City didn’t raise property taxes because it raised taxes on our natural gas bills. The mayor and city council members can crow all they want about how they didn’t raise our property taxes (and District 150 did), but the truth is that the City will be taking more money out of our pockets next year than District 150.

According to this report, “Under the projected rate next year [for District 150], the owner of a $100,000 home would expect to pay about $1,640, excluding any Homestead exemptions or increase in assessed valuation, an approximately $13 increase [emphasis added] above this year under the same determinations.” In contrast, the natural gas tax is “a 3.5 percent tax on gross receipts resulting in about $33 to $34 more [emphasis added] for the typical residential user each year.” So the average homeowner will only be paying $13 more next year to District 150, but $33 to $34 more to the City of Peoria, albeit by different means. The total dollar increases are also significantly different: the City’s natural gas tax raises $2.2 million in revenue, whereas District 150’s increase raises up to $900,000 in additional revenue.

Furthermore, guess who else gets to pay the natural gas tax? That’s right — District 150! So the council has raised taxes on the school district, and is now complaining that the school district is raising property taxes. To a certain extent, the City is really raising property taxes by proxy. District 150 doesn’t have the ability to tax natural gas, garbage, water, liquor, etc., like the City does. When their costs increase, they have to go to the property owners to get more revenue.

Keeping these facts in mind, consider these outrageous statements from City officials quoted in the article:

“It doesn’t seem like there has been a lot of consideration from the other taxing bodies to continue to (not) increase their portion (of the property tax).” [Mayor Ardis]

“We’re on the edges of a tax revolt in this country…. The bottom line is we have to live within our means. If we have to afford less government, we have to put less government in place.” [Eric Turner]

This from two members of the council who voted to spend $55 million on expanding the Civic Center, spend $37 million to build a hotel (including a $9 million developers fee), give away the $10 million Sears block for $1, give away the $2.8 million Kellar Branch for $1 (and indirectly cost the taxpayers $1.25 million for its acquisition by the Park District), back a $3.3 million loan to now-defunct Firefly Energy (resulting in over $1 million owed by the City)… need I go on?

“If you are a citizen of Peoria and open your tax bill each year, you will see your taxes have been increased year after year…. I do think it’s important we continue on the city side to hold our property taxes away from an increase.” [Ryan Spain]

Apparently, all other taxes are okay to raise. Fees on our water bills, taxes on our Ameren bills, sales taxes downtown, the continuation of HRA taxes to pay for the overbuilt Civic Center — these apparently don’t have any affect on citizens. As long as we “hold our property taxes away from an increase,” then the quality of life here is golden!

A word to the wise: Council members in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.

City Council, City of Peoria

Council meeting tonight

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The Peoria City Council will be meeting tonight (Tuesday, Dec. 14) to approve the final 2011 budget and dispose of other regular business. Here’s the agenda. You can hear the meeting on 89.9 FM (WCBU) tonight at 6:15 p.m., either on the radio or live-streamed over the Internet. The meeting will also be broadcast on Comcast Cable channel 22. Past meetings can be viewed online here.

General News

It’s a snow day. Enjoy!

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I’m going to take the City of Peoria’s advice and stay home today. I recommend all my readers do the same. Here’s last night’s press release from the City:

The City of Peoria is under a blizzard alert which is expected to commence overnight, and last through the day on Sunday. Due to the impending weather, we ask that you stay at home.

We are experiencing icy road conditions and City crews are currently salting primary streets. If you need to be out, please take precautions and include a winter survival kit including blankets in your vehicles. Should you encounter problems, we encourage you to stay with your vehicle.

And here’s today’s update:

City crews are maintaining Primary streets by plowing and treating hills with salt. Considering the wind speeds expected during the day today along with dropping temperatures, sand/salt treatments will have little to no effect. The streets are snow covered with ice forming on the pavement. Blizzard conditions are expected to continue during the day. Citizens should not travel. If traveling is necessary motorists should reduce speeds and allow extra time to stop.

Have a happy snow day!

General News

New York Times skeptical of the Wonderful Development

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This story is from last month, but I just ran across it yesterday. Remember when Tom Ricketts asked the State of Illinois for a bunch of money to help him improve Wrigley Field, which he recently acquired? That idea went over like a lead balloon. Doling out millions in taxes to a millionaire while the state is in such dire fiscal condition? Guffaws all around.

Not so fast, says the New York Times. They wonder whether Ricketts got a fair shake, given the other projects in Illinois that did win millions in taxpayer dollars. There are no doubt hundreds, if not thousands, of projects in Illinois the Times could have used to make their point. Guess what they cited?

In June, Mr. Quinn unveiled tax credits to renovate the Hotel Père Marquette in Peoria and add an adjacent Courtyard Marriott. The state figures to forgo $10 million in income-tax receipts due to this pilot project, said State Senator John J. Cullerton, the Senate president.

The Peoria gambit will supposedly generate 1,000 construction jobs, the number Mr. Ricketts cites for his Wrigley plan. In Peoria, Mr. Quinn spoke of jobs and the taxes to be paid by workers.

Note especially the word “supposedly” — the New York Times doesn’t sound convinced that this project is really going to provide the number of jobs promised. The question is, why did Gary Matthews get such a sweet deal down here in Peoria, while Ricketts got shown the door in Chicago? There are many possibilities, but I’m sure this isn’t one of them.

Uncategorized

Quote of the Day

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The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

–4th Amendment, U.S. Constitution

It appears that too many Americans today either don’t know they have this right, or are far too willing to give it up for some false sense of security.

City Council, City of Peoria

No choice but to tax us more, Turner says

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The Peoria City Council endorsed the creation of yet another tax Tuesday night. This time, the tax is on natural gas:

By a 7-2 vote, the council endorsed a “hybrid tax” in which two different assessments will be levied on natural gas users. The first, which will affect residential, commercial and industrial customers, is a 3.5 percent tax on gross receipts resulting in about $33 to $34 more for the typical residential user each year.

The second is a $0.0035 (35 hundredths of a penny) per therm tax on larger consumers who purchase natural gas on the open market.

The tax is expected to generate $2.2 million in 2011, and $2.4 million in years thereafter. The 2011 tax will be assessed on February’s Ameren bills.

So now, during the coldest month of winter, the City is going to start taxing everyone for their natural gas usage. Councilman Eric Turner said (according to the Journal Star), “There is no one around this horseshoe who wanted to do this. (But) we did not have a choice.”

I suppose it’s true enough that the council had no choice but to raise revenue in some way, but that’s not really the whole story, is it? The truth is that the council left itself with no choice because of prior poor decisions.

For instance, there was the Firefly loan guarantee that cost the City over a million dollars. There was the $2.8 million-appraised Kellar Branch rail line that the City gave to the Park District for $1. And the $10 million Sears block that the City gave to Peoria County for another dollar. Let’s not forget the $55 million the City spent to overbuild the Civic Center and the $34 million they’re poised to spend on a hotel to connect to it (this amount includes a developer fee of $9 million).

Some of that money was in assets that could have been sold. Some of it is debt that we are or will soon be paying. And some of it is in cold hard cash. But all of that money is flying out of our pockets due to poor decisions. Now the chickens are coming home to roost, and we suddenly do “not have a choice” but to raise taxes on Peoria residents.

It’s like a guy who spends his paycheck on cigarettes, alcohol, and poker games coming home and telling his wife, “Gee, honey, we have no choice but to pay our bills with the credit card this month.”

No choice, indeed.

Museum Block, Peoria County

Museum bids come in lower than estimated

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From a Peoria County press release:

Peoria County conducted the Peoria Riverfront Museum (PRM) bid opening this afternoon at the Peoria County Courthouse. Five companies submitted bids for construction of the PRM: Core Construction of Morton, IL; PJ Hoerr of Peoria, IL; River City Construction of East Peoria, IL; Walsh Construction of Chicago, IL; and Williams Brothers Construction of Peoria Heights, IL. The following table shows respective bid amounts:

Company
Core Constr.
PJ Hoerr
River City
Walsh Constr.
Williams Bros.
Base Bid
28,155,000
26,697,000
28,357,000
27,927,000
25,780,000
Alternate Total*
2,113,000
1,455,832
1,736,500
1,461,300
1,646,900
Bid Total
$ 30,268,000
$ 28,152,832
$ 30,093,500
$ 29,388,300
$ 27,426,900

*Alternate totals reflect the cumulative amount submitted for 31 items not included in the base bid.

Construction costs for the PRM were estimated at $35,829,249. Andrew Rand, Peoria County Board Member and Chairman of the County’s PRM Construction Committee, remarks on the cost savings realized by the bid amounts: "Peoria County is very pleased with the results of today’s bid opening. Protecting the tax payers’ investment is our top priority and, with bids coming in as much as $8 million below our estimates, we are able to do that. The museum project is moving forward at a time when construction costs are the most favorable we’ve seen in recent years and I believe this downtown development project bodes well for our economy and our workers."

Over the course of the coming days, county staff will conduct its due diligence to verify that all bid requirements were met and subsequently recommend the lowest responsible bid to the Peoria Riverfront Museum Committee at its meeting next week; meeting date and time are yet to be determined. Then, on December 9 at its regular meeting, the County Board will vote to award construction of the Peoria Riverfront Museum to the company submitting the lowest responsible bid.

Dave Ransburg, President of the Peoria Riverfront Museum Board of Directors, outlines the project timeline: "Over the past few months, we’ve all watched the progress of the parking deck in anticipation of the next phase: construction of the museum itself. Next week’s bid award is a major milestone in a project that’s been a long time coming. Now we just have a few short winter months to wait until construction begins and what has been known as the museum project will become reality in the fall of 2012!"

County Board Chairman Thomas H. O’Neill III echoes Ransburg’s enthusiastic sentiments: "The museum is happening and it is bringing jobs to our community when jobs are scarce across the country. It is a credit to the local construction trades that four of the five companies submitting a bid for this project are based right here in central Illinois. Using local labor to build the museum will help build our economy and there’s no better time for that than now."

For more information on the Peoria Riverfront Museum construction bids please call County Administration at (309) 672-6056.

“Protecting the tax payers’ investment is our top priority….” Funniest. Line. Ever.