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Aldermen are afraid that voters will
see the word "tax" and automatically vote no.
"People I have talked to are against
any tax increase, period, but they always ask ‘Why?’ and ‘What’s it
for?’" Alderman Glenn Shelton said at Tuesday night’s work session.
The consensus of the council was that
voters need to have those questions answered in the three weeks that
remain before the election.
Voters who read the ballot item
carefully will see that the tax increase is "for expenditure on
public infrastructure," but Alderman Pat Madigan pointed out that
not everyone knows exactly what infrastructure is.
"We know it because we use it all the
time. It means city roads, streets and alleys," he said.
It also means sidewalks, sewage
treatment facilities, drains and other improvements to the city
itself, said Les Plotner, city treasurer.
Alderman Verl Prather, chair of the
finance committee, said the city does not have the money now to do
any street work. Any street improvements going on are those on state
highways, with the state paying the bill.
For example, improvements to South Elm
Street have been postponed for the last two years. Other
improvements that cannot be funded now are a Sherman Street upgrade
and a sewer line to residents on Campus View Drive, he said.
The city is facing a budget crunch
because of historically low interest rates on money it invests and
low sales tax receipts. Last year the city spent about $280,000 more
than it took in, and this year it is also operating on a deficit
budget.
Alderman Steve Fuhrer, former finance
chairman, said voters need to know how little the tax increase will
cost and exactly what will be taxed and what won’t.
Presently the city tax is 6¼ percent,
lower than most other cities in the area, which tax at 7¼ percent or
more, he said. The increase will bring the Lincoln tax rate to 6¾
percent, still below the rate of neighboring municipalities.
"If I spend $100, what will the tax
increase cost me?" he asked. "Only 50 cents more."
The tax increase will not be added to
food or prescription drugs, which are taxed at a lower rate, only 1
percent. The new tax will also not be added to vehicles that must be
licensed by the state, such as cars and trucks.
Another point voters need to know is
that out-of-town visitors will be helping to put the extra money in
the city’s coffers, Fuhrer said. The businesses on the west side —
motels, restaurants, gas stations and others — are all within the
city limits and collect city sales taxes, and many of them are
patronized by visitors driving by on Interstate 55.
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"People from out of town are going to
be helping us just as much as people from in town," Fuhrer said.
"This is a fair tax, based on what you
spend," Prather added. "Senior citizens on a fixed income will be
spending a lot less than I do with a family of seven."
Plotner said he would put together a
fact sheet on the tax increase to pass out to voters. Other
suggestions were that alderman walk their wards and talk to people
about the upcoming referendum.
In other business, the council debated
whether to change the wording on contracts with bidders for
equipment and labor on the sewage treatment plant upgrade.
City Attorney Bill Bates said he was
concerned about wording in the agreement for the $9.8 million
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency loan that says the funds
will be paid to the city subject to their appropriation by the
Illinois General Assembly.
He said the wording might leave the
city liable for payment to contractors if the General Assembly did
not pass the appropriation. He suggested that language be added to
bidders’ contracts saying the city’s ability to pay is contingent on
receiving the loan from the state.
Joseph Pisula of Donohue and
Associates, engineer on the sewer plant upgrade, said any contract
with the state is contingent upon appropriations passed by the
General Assembly. He pointed out that the EPA loan is not like a
bond issue, where the city has the money up front. The EPA holds the
funds and pays expenses as they come in.
Theoretically there is a risk, he said,
but interest on the EPA loan, at 2.5 or 2.6 percent, is much cheaper
than interest on any other type of funding the city could get for
the project.
Grant Eaton, sewer plant manager, said
he believed contractors would object to the language Bates
suggested.
The council
will vote at its next regular meeting Oct. 21 on whether to add the
language to the contracts and whether to allow the language to be
removed if contractors object to it.
Mayor Beth
Davis was absent from the meeting because of illness. Mayor
pro tem George Mitchell was out of town, and Alderman Verl Prather
chaired the meeting.
[Joan Crabb]
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The tax increase, effective Dec. 1, is
expected to raise about $10,000 in new money. Of this sum, the
Finance Committee recommends granting $4,750 to the J.H. Hawes Grain
Elevator Museum in Atlanta to pay for renovating and restoring a
wooden boxcar and extending the railroad siding it sits on. Finance
Committee chair Rod White said the other approximately $5,000 in new
money is unallocated at this time. The maximum allowable hotel tax
rate for counties the size of Logan is 5 percent.
Of last year’s 4½ percent levy on hotel
and motel revenue, 4 percent went to the Abraham Lincoln Tourism
Bureau of Logan County and one-half percent to Main Street Lincoln
for the Looking for Lincoln committee. The Finance Committee
recommends continuing this distribution.
Thressia Usherwood, executive director
of the tourism bureau, on Friday requested $1,100 of the unallocated
new money to be used for keeping Mount Pulaski Courthouse and
Postville Courthouse state historic sites open for special events.
Board member Paul Gleason said state funding for historic sites is
being cut.
The amount raised by the hotel-motel
tax cannot be predicted precisely because it varies with the number
of rooms rented. Finance Committee member Dale Voyles said the
committee "looks with favor" on Usherwood’s request but prefers to
leave a sum unallocated until some of the 2002-03 money is collected
and the estimate of the year’s proceeds is firmer.
Finance Committee member Roger Bock
quoted state law to show that it is broad in listing potential uses
for the hotel-motel tax. Proceeds can finance tourism, convention
facilities, theatrics, and sports and cultural activities. Bock said
he would like to see projects presented at budget hearings so the
board can vary the allocation from year to year.
In other financial business White said
details of the proposed fiscal 2002-03 budget will be presented at a
called board meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, in the first floor
courtroom of the courthouse. At that time the full board can make
additions and deletions. Final vote on the budget is set for the
Nov. 19 board meeting. The fiscal year begins Dec. 1.
The proposed budget carries a deficit
of approximately $175,000. White said over $300,000 was cut from
initial budget requests. The savings came primarily from three
departments. Building and grounds was cut $135,000 by reducing some
of the component line items, including remodeling, elevator repair,
sidewalks and parks. Finance Committee member Dick Logan said these
cuts are being made until the local economy and county revenues
improve.
Second, White said the sheriff’s budget
was pared by $70,000, consisting mostly of the price of two new
patrol cars. Purchase of the vehicles will be deferred for another
year. Finally, the juvenile probation budget was cut by $50,000.
Electronic monitoring is expected to save money for the probation
office, White explained.
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In a unanimous ballot the board voted
to form a safety committee charged with creating a safety manual and
program. Insurance and Legislative Committee chair Dale Voyles said
the safety committee is needed to meet workers compensation
insurance requirements. It will also give employees a place to take
their concerns over safety issues. Because the committee will be
composed of existing employees, he said there will be no cost. In
fact, there is a potential savings from safer facilities and
procedures and lower insurance costs. The committee has two models
to consider in setting up the safety program.
In other business, board chair Dick
Logan appointed Gloria Luster and Roger Bock to the governing body
of the six-county Resource Conservation and Development area. In May
the board voted to enter the RC&D, which also includes Cass,
Christian, Mason, Menard and Sangamon counties. Bill Dickerson of
Natural Resources Conservation Service said the purpose of the area
is to identify types of natural resource concerns and methods of
addressing them, including applying for grants. The RC&D board will
prioritize applications.
The county board approved both
appointments. Luster, assuming she regains her seat in the November
election, will serve a three-year term as board representative
beginning Jan. 1, 2003. Bock, who was defeated in the primary and
will no longer be a board member after Dec. 1, will serve two years
as an at-large representative. The Logan County Soil and Water
Conservation District will appoint another two representatives.
In accordance with a straw vote taken
Thursday night, the county board voted to grant a conditional use
permit to Leslie, Karen and Christopher Hoagland for their property
at 1377 1200th Street in rural Lincoln. The land is zoned
agricultural, and the Hoaglands asked for conditional use as a junk
or salvage yard to operate their motor coach restoration business.
The motion by Zoning Committee chair
David Hepler referred to "Leslie and Karen Hoagland and their
immediate family." Voyles moved to change the wording to specify the
Hoaglands’ son Christopher, who is active in the business.
The board
also gave final approval to the plat for Grant Estates subdivision
on 840th Avenue in West Lincoln Township. County engineer Tom
Hickman said that Brad Luckhart, the owner and developer, has met
Logan County subdivision regulations.
[Lynn
Spellman]
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