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For now the Springfield forecast is bright and sunny,
but there may be dark clouds looming ahead. In a special session held on Monday, Mayor Tim Davlin
told aldermen that the fiscal year 2009 budget will closely resemble the
current year’s $97.6 million budget, plus an additional $3.1 million
in salaries and health benefits — but, he warned, it’s the
future they need to prepare for as mandated pension contributions continue
to rise. Because of changes in state pension law and
guidelines, the city estimates that fiscal 2009 police and fire pensions
will increase by $785,000 — a figure that Davlin predicts will
continue to climb and maybe even triple by 2017. “Unfunded state mandates are absolutely killing
us,” Davlin said. “So much of our $97 million budget is not
controlled by any of the 11 of us — it’s controlled by just
down the street at Second and Capitol.”
According to city data, pension payments currently
total $11.5 million, or 63 percent, of the $18.27 million in property taxes
levied by the city. Lincoln Library is also funded by the property tax
levy, and as the pension payments increase, the mayor said, library monies
will dissipate. Springfield’s property-tax rate has not been
raised since 1984; instead, it was decreased from $1 per $100 in assessed
valuation to $0.9385 in 2006. Davlin has said the levy rate would need to
be nearly $1.62 to accommodate the changes but refused to stand by that
recommendation Monday. Asked about Davlin’s remarks, Ward 6 Ald. Mark
Mahoney said aldermen will need to seriously consider an increase in the
property-tax rate and will need the leadership of the mayor. “Nobody has the political courage to say that
it needs to be raised, because nobody likes to hear that,” says
Mahoney, chairman of the council’s finance committee. “The
mayor basically made the case that it needs to be raised, but the
administration doesn’t have a recommendation. “That’s unfortunate.”
A property-tax increase for fiscal 2009 would need to
be approved by the council by Dec. 18, a move that Mahoney says is unlikely
because of the timing.
Contact Amanda Robert at arobert@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Nov 29 – Dec 5, 2007.
