By: Diane Benjamin
The charts below are from the Illinois Comptroller’s office – this is information Bloomington reported to them.
Government Activity is the column to look at, especially liabilities due beyond one year. Since it is hard to read: Source: Liabilities
2018 – $221,260,896
2017 – $198,984,845
2016 – $216,297,608
What is this HUGE liability?
Pensions
Source: pension liability
(note: IMRF reported in 2017 does not look right, the liability was likely higher)
Liability as of 4/30/2019:
Fire: $59,624,967
Police: $65,425,832
IMRF: $29,114,296
Total: Pension liability is $154,165,095 of the $221,260,896 from 2018
Add $16,213,994 for benefits after retirement for a total of $155,797,089.
70% of the long term debt is to pay people not working.
Taxes have already been raised for pension payments. This debt can not be paid without more tax increases.
Pensions are killing every level of government in Illinois. Instead of reforms to at least remove the 3% increase every year, we get a progressive change to the Illinois Constitution that will tax you more. The democrats claim the rich will pay, there is plenty of proof they won’t. Tax friendly states will welcome them, that means us serfs will be footing the bill.
Much more detail is included in the financial statements – start on PDF page 100: https://www.cityblm.org/home/showdocument?id=23337
Gov Pritzker thinks combining police and fire pension funds will help. What happens to the fund balances when the next recession hits? The system is unsustainable and nobody with the power to make hard choices has the courage to do it.
People who refuse to vote need to at least show up in November to say NO to the progressive income tax. Democrats are lying about what it will do.
4/30/2019
4/30/2018
4/30/2017
Democrats or demonrats,,,just mere coincidence? I think not.
This might be less of a problem if our area was in an economic boom with new businesses and new jobs flooding into the area but….
Along with of all of the other of the south of I-80 cities in Illinois (except Champaign/Urban) our area is contracting rather than expanding.
So the amount of money coming into the area is shrinking as our “leadership” dreams up new ways to build government sponsored “economic development” projects with more city debt?
It all sounds pretty shortsighted and pretty dumb…because it is.