Elgin council puts off senior rebate decision
Elgin City Council members decided during their special committee meeting Wednesday to delay a decision about the senior citizen property tax rebate program until winter.
Since the council approved the senior rebate in 1996, more than $9 million has been distributed. The program has functioned smoothly since its inception because the Riverboat Fund — money collected through taxes on the Grand Victoria Casino — has remained well over the $13,275,000 threshold initially required to run the program. Based on revenue projections, city officials expect the fund to be short of the threshold, calling the program into question.
Councilman John Prigge said Wednesday it would make sense to wait until the final revenue numbers come in to make hard decisions.
“The smart thing to do is deal with facts instead of prediction,” Prigge said.
Kane County seniors generally see their rebates in July — $200 for qualified homeowners and $35 for qualified mobile homeowners — while Cook County seniors receive theirs later in the year. Based on the plan to delay, if checks are ever mailed out, it won’t be until the new year.
City staff members recommended at the July 27 committee of the whole meeting that council members revise the program to include an income threshold — set at $55,000 for a household. A two-phase payout would guarantee the rebate to seniors who make less than that but only offer it to the remaining seniors if the Riverboat fund exceeded the $13,275,000 mark.
Because council members indicated in July the $55,000 income qualification was too high, Chief Financial Officer Colleen Lavery looked into tying the Elgin rebate program to the Illinois Cares Rx Plus Program or Circuit Breaker Property Tax Grant. Both Illinois Department on Aging programs set income thresholds between $26,000 and $45,000.
In a memo to council members, Lavery said the prescription program would not work because there is no way to identify only those seniors who own or rent their homes. And Lavery does not recommend the circuit breaker program because it could cost the city more than $650,000, even with the income restriction.
Ultimately, staff members maintained their July recommendation, which would cost approximately $325,000 if only the lower income seniors received the rebate.
Council members did not discuss the recommendations Wednesday, instead opting to avoid the guesswork.
“In the past we’ve never had to speculate,” Prigge said. “It’s never been this close.”