Only place for relief is in local tax levies

If you feel as I do that the recent growth in Schaumburg real estate taxes does not exhibit the fiscal constraint you expected from our taxing bodies during these difficult times, then now is the time for us to seek change.

No external action is expected which would restore the homeowners exemption, or shift the tax burden back to commercial properties, or cause the agencies to not resort to real estate taxes to fix their spending problem thus, any reduction in the future tax bills must be resolved locally.

The task of reducing the tax levy is difficult because in the budgeting process, many managers develop their estimated needs based on what they would like to receive, management reviews the planning in a perfunctory manner and turns the plan over to the financial staff to chose a method of finance.

At this point, it is far too convenient to levy more tax to solve the spending problem rather than explore service cuts, staff reduction, elimination of Cadillac pension plans and the adoption of an affordable salary structure.

The current flood of black-border meetings indicates that requesting more tax dollars is still a favored approach. Perhaps the starting point in the budget cycle should be from what the provided service is worth to the taxpayers.

The taxpayers could also help the process by offering constructive inputs on the services that could be reduced, suggest consolidation opportunities to eliminate duplication, or to provide volunteer service to lessen the burden on the staff.

The taxpayers must also spend much more effort on the selection of representatives for the various agency management and oversight boards.

Larry Stump

Schaumburg