The Civic Federation opposed the County’s $2.99 billion FY2004 budget because it does not reduce operational expenditures or implement increased efficiencies and It is balanced by means of two new and unnecessary revenue enhancements: an increase in the County’s home rule sales tax from 0.75% to 1.0% and a new 4% personal property lease transaction tax that will generate $58 million in FY2004.
The Civic Federation was disappointed in the Forest Preserve District’s FY2004 operating budget of $140.8 million for several reasons. There was insufficient time--only 4 working days--permitted this year for public review of the budget. The budget fails to significantly build upon the cost cutting measures enacted last year and implement additional management reforms that will improve the quality of service delivery in the long-term.
The Civic Federation was unable to support this proposal because a lack of both available information and formal legislative language to which we could refer prevented us from fully analyzing the consequences of this property tax exemption.
The Civic Federation supported the Chicago Park District's $351 million FY2004 budget because of the District's history of implementing management efficiencies and cost cutting measures and the progress it has made in shifting revenues from property tax to fees.
Despite the limitations of Mayor Daley's property tax exemption proposals, The Civic Federation supported them with a number of cautions. The Civic Federation is concerned about the cost of administering the system, increased complexity of criteria, and removal of the annual application process.
The Civic Federation supported Chicago’s FY2004 budget of $4.8 billion because: 1) the City has made continued efforts to control personal services costs by reducing personnel over time; 2) The City’s net appropriation has increased an average of 2.6% per year over the last five years, on par with inflation; and 3) The City did not increase its property tax levy.
The Civic Federation supported the CTA’s FY2004 operating budget of $936 million. The fare increase in this budget was justified because: the CTA has made some significant efforts over the past five years to control costs; the budget does not make service cuts; and the CTA is a major economic and social asset to the Chicagoland region.
The Civic Federation supported the City Colleges' FY2004 budget of $295 million because growth in appropriations was contained through personnel reductions and management efficiencies. However, The Civic Federation remains concerned about a lack of transparency in the budget document.
The Civic Federation was disappointed that, rather than cut non-essential or redundant programs, the Chicago Public Schools FY2004 budget of $4.8 billion included a $36 million property tax increase and made only a minimal 30-position reduction in a total headcount of 47,319.
This report provides a concise, objective analysis of the revenue structure of the State of Illinois.
