By: Diane Benjamin
Below are the same charts I used in the Bloomington Debt story: https://blnnews.com/2019/12/31/bloomington-debt-2/
Liabilities – Government Activities – Due beyond one year: Source
3/31/19 – $183,410,936
3/31/18 – $171,607,747
3/31/17 – 173,618,828
As of March 31, 2019 Source
IMRF pension liability : $ 20,832,186
Police pension liability; $ 35,840,310
Fire pension liability: $ 25,365,902
Total Pension debt: $82,038,398
Add the liability for Post Employment Benefits: 29,620,890
Total liability to pay after retirement benefits: $111,659,288
That means almost 61% of Normal’s debt is to pay people not working.
Bloomington’s was 70%
This bonded debt chart is also on the Comptroller’s site: Source
Total Pension debt ($111,659,288 ) + Bond Principal Debt ($59,565,580)
equals $ 171,224,868 of the $183,410,936 total
In the next 14 years Normal is also scheduled to pay $36,579,898 in interest.
As reported in the Bloomington story, instead of fixing pensions the State wants a Progressive Income Tax so taxing you more isn’t a problem.
Just Say No
Normal isn’t done racking up debt. They still want the underpass and UPTOWN 2.0. Maybe the new Minister of Propaganda can explain how all this debt will be paid without taking more of your money.
(Think this is why cannabis is legal now? Stay high or say goodbye?)
See bond details in the Normal financial statements – beginning on PDF page 177 https://normal.org/DocumentCenter/View/15625/CAFR19-FINAL-DOC
March 31, 2019
March 31, 2018
March 31, 2017
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Cannabis is now legal so that you’ll be too high to care that IL and local governments are stealing more and more of your money.
Guaranteed that the acceptance by politicians to legalize cannabis was not to benefit the people but to take more tax money, like everything else.
Yikes! It’s a banana republic…with all due respect to bananas. This seems like the perfect time for a couple of senseless taxpayer-funded projects, like a tunnel to save people from walking a few hundred feet and an expansion of the Uptown boondoggle. (Seriously, what property or business in Uptown is NOT dependent on a subsidy from the Town?!) Oh, and any word on the Kathleen Complex? What’s another $40+ million in debt plus interest?! I’m sure the tax revenue from people traveling for youth sports will measure in the hundreds.