By: Diane Benjamin
Recap of Normal’s tax history:
This story has screen shots from the Normal website on May 30, 2012: https://blnnews.com/2012/05/30/normal-il-what-is-up-with-the-debt/
All current rates can be found from this site: http://www.normal.org/129/Taxes-Fees
What is the rate now? 8.75% 3.5% going to the Town of Normal
What is the rate now?
What is the rate now?
What is the rate now?
What is the rate now?
(This is the only rate that hasn’t increased)
What is the rate now?
Sales Tax increased 1% = can’t determine amount per year
Water increased at least $2.61 x 12 = $31.32 a year (2011)
Sewer increased at least $2.25 x 12 = $27.00 a year (2009)
Water Reclamation increased at least $1.06 x 12 months = $12.72 a year (2009)
Garbage increased $16 x 12 months – $192 a year (2011)
Taxes (not including Sales Tax) increased at least $263.04 per year. Some of these rates may have automatic increases attached, more research needed.
Property taxes were covered in this story: https://blnnews.com/2019/11/02/normals-property-tax-history/
What this means: 1.) Pensions and premium healthcare benefits are very costly. We have not operated in a system where public-sector employees are making far less than private-sector employees for a long time where the pension was a draw. Now, public-sector employees often make more and still have the gold-plated benefits on top of it. When people are retiring in their early to mid 50s and then are making in pension what they did when they retired in about 10 years (when private-sector employees generally retire), it is not sustainable. 2.) Neglecting infrastructure to give away millions to your chosen pet projects comes back to bite you. It becomes much more costly to fix over time if it is not properly maintained or timely addressed.
What is happening that no one will tell you is that many public employees will hang on for thirty to thirty five years or buy back years so they can retire at full salary and close to full benefits. It is happening everywhere under the IMRF plan. When you add on that many of these retirees are at high eighty, ninety or six figure salaries of course it has a financial tipping point. I would get in lively discussion with some of these people and ask why sixty or seventy thousand a year retirement plus social security wasn’t enough to retire on. You would have thought I had went out of my way to personally insult them by asking the question. Even after retiring some would find another public part time job and get even more IMRF money. They saw nothing wrong with it.
I can’t wait until the public employees turn on each other. The money will run out eventually. The state supreme court says pensions can’t be touched. But, you can’t get blood from a turnip. Eventually, the checks will stop going out. I wish that the parties could sit down and hammer out a compromise deal. Of course, that will never happen. It’s amazing how public employees don’t believe that the money will ever run out. Why don’t they push back at their unions to say these deals will sink us all? Regardless of what we think, pensions should be paid at this time. Problem is that Koos and his cronies essentially raided pension funds to build lavish monuments to big government, give out incentives to friends of government, and support political pet projects. Maybe the public employees should focus their anger on the Town government.
The tax hike proposal made the front page of today’s Pantagraph and I’m greatly troubled by assistant city manger Eric Hanson’s optimism that fund consolidation will result in a better picture next year. I’m less than sanguine about these “reform” efforts currently underway in the state house. First, he’s assuming it will pass. Maybe, maybe not. But, if it does pass, I’m doubtful it will yield the promised results. Proponents point to the IMRF funds that have undergone consolidation and are usually better preforming than the police and fire funds. Yet, if one reads the same Pantagraph article in today’s paper, the majority of this year’s shortfall in Normal is from the IMRF fund. That’s because the IMRF reduced their interest earning assumption. Things are not preforming as well as the IMRF had hoped. So, consolidation is not the end all be all of pension reform. Step one has got to be movement out of a defined benefit plan into a defined contribution 401 K style plan. I’m skeptical if we’re ever going to get out of this hole that right now is estimated in Illinois at $214 Billion and growing, but if we are this has to be step one. This will ultimately require an amendment to the state constitution. Don’t hold your breath.
I could go on all day about this and I’ll spare you the details, but the devil is in the details. Fund consolidation is ultimately debt consolidation that ultimately translates to a bailout of some of the worst managed pensions in Illinois that are far worse than what we have in Normal. Surely this isn’t what the taxpayers of Normal want. I fail to see how this is in our best interests or how it will protect our investment in Normal, however poorly preforming it is. Beware, things could get worse before they get better.
Consolidation is wealth redistribution from better funded plans to the ones that didn’t bother to fund theirs.
Thank you, Craig – I was looking for a good way to say just that. This is Illinois – pension debt consolidation may not be kind to Bloominton-Normal, or even a good thing altogether.