The Civic Federation supports the FY2010 Forest Preserve District of Cook County budget of $198.2 million because the District will reduce its property tax levy by $1.1 million and use a portion of its budget reserve funds, rather than increase taxes, to balance its budget. However, the Civic Federation warns that the Forest Preserve District faces fiscal pressures due to rising personnel costs…
The Civic Federation has enormous concerns about the fiscal risks associated with Governor Quinn’s “deal” to avoid CTA fare increases. Under the proposal, the Regional Transportation Authority will issue General Obligation bonds worth $83 million in both 2010 and 2011 and transfer the funds to the CTA for capital projects. The CTA will then shift a similar amount of its existing capital funds to…
While the Civic Federation traditionally analyzes features common to all local government budgets, our analyses of the Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) budgets include additional productivity measurement data. The Civic Federation uses expenditure, personnel and ridership data provided by CTA to gain insight into changes in productivity. The Civic Federation uses three measures to assess CTA’s…
The Civic Federation supports the Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) proposed FY2010 budget of $1.29 billion. Facing significant public funding short falls, CTA plans to close its $300.9 million deficit with fare increases ranging from 25 to 75 cents per ride, the elimination of 1,021 full-time equivalent positions, reductions in bus and rail service and the transfer of capital funds into general…
The Civic Federation released its analysis of the FY2010 DuPage County budget yesterday. In it the Federation announced its support for the County’s proposed financial plan due in large part to the County’s ability to maintain operation of its core programs while reducing its property tax levy in the midst of an economic recession. As many governments struggle to make ends meet this year,…
The Civic Federation supports the $521.2 million FY2010 DuPage County budget proposal because it maintains funding for core programs while providing property tax relief. The County has additionally improved its budget planning process and increased government transparency. Read the press release for the FY2010 DuPage County budget proposal here.
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) recently implemented a vendor database that allows members of the public to search for vendor and contract information on the CTA website. The database is intended to improve the transparency of the CTA’s procurement activities by making data about individual vendors and contracts more easily accessible to the public, particularly vendors interested in doing…
On Monday September 28, 2009 the Civic Federation attended the second of three public hearings held by DuPage County regarding its recently-released FY2010 financial plan. This was the first year that the County has held formal, separate public hearings throughout DuPage on its proposed budget. The hearings are part of a larger effort by the County to improve transparency and public…
The Civic Federation sent a letter today to the Board of Forest Preserve Commissioners, which is also the Cook County Board of Commissioners, urging them to reject a request by the Village of Hinsdale for 30 acres of Forest Preserve District land to create a village park. The Board is scheduled to act on the request at a Forest Preserve District Board Meeting tomorrow, Wednesday, October 7th at…
This report compares effective property tax rates in selected communities around metropolitan Chicago and finds that many communities experienced a slight increase in their property tax burden in 2007. However, Chicago continues to have one of the lowest property tax burdens for residential, commercial, and industrial properties in the region. Click here to read the press release.
