Rauner meeting leaves Tri-Cities mayors feeling better about income tax fund loss
Tri-Cities leaders and Campton Hills Village President Patsy Smith walked into a meeting with Gov. Bruce Rauner on Thursday morning filled with trepidation about possibly losing half their share of state income tax dollars.
They walked out feeling optimistic about how the governor's long-term plans may refill those local budget holes.
Campton Hills has no village-imposed property tax and would feel the bite losing income tax dollars more than many local communities, Smith said. She communicated that problem to Rauner and walked away with a new appreciation for Rauner's perspective.
"The change in leadership is forcing people to talk about the elephant in the room instead of kicking the can down the road," Smith said. "It's yin and yang. You only have a certain amount of money and you have to find a way to spend it efficiently. The gist I got was there's going to be some conversation about essential and nonessential services and how to provide essential services more efficiently. The problem is it's all happening so quickly."
Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns said Rauner left the meeting with "a clear understanding and appreciation" for the local budget holes the loss of income tax funds would create.
In turn, Rauner and his staff informed the local leaders that they will introduce a package of bills, possibly as soon as next week, that will address workers' compensation and pension reform that may ultimately help all municipalities.
"It was a great session," Burns said. "It was very frank. ... Nobody held back. As this process continues I'm more confident than ever the lines of communication have been opened."
Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke went a step further and credited Rauner for reaching out to local leaders for input in a fashion he's never seen during his long tenure in Batavia.
"I'll give him an 'A' for effort," Schielke said.
The meeting, which occurred at the Campton Hills village offices, included West Chicago Mayor Ruben Pineda and Oswego Village President Brian LeClercq. Local leaders provided Rauner with a list of grievances regarding state government.
On the list was pension reform, police and fire commission governance, prison reform and unfunded state mandates on local government and schools. It's that last item that St. Charles Mayor Ray Rogina found to be one of the most promising aspects of the conversation.
"The governor wants to see structural reform, and it focuses on local control," Rogina said. "He wants to get rid of all or most of the 280 unfunded mandates that are issued by the state to local municipalities and school districts. The mayors agreed with that. Right there you've got common ground."
Rogina said part of the conversation entailed how abolishing those mandates could free up local funds to the extent that losing some income tax revenue would be palatable. For St. Charles, a 50 percent loss of income tax dollars is a $1.6 million hole.
Rogina guaranteed there would be no tax increases in St. Charles' budget to compensate for the loss if that money is swept away. The city will use a combination of cuts and new revenue sources to address the loss, he said.
"I commend the governor for coming right out into the field," Rogina said. "He came right in saying, 'I know you want to throw pats of butter and rolls and coffee cups at me. Go right ahead and do it, but I'm on a mission,'" Rogina said. "We all agreed the state is in dire fiscal straights. Something has to be done. So is there going to be some pain associated with the process? I suppose there will be."