Carpentersville opposes state 'holding hostage' suburb's money

Carpentersville officials are taking a political stance against the state tying up village funds during the state's budget impasse.

The village board this week passed a resolution that formally opposes any attempt by the state to withhold or reduce revenues allotted to local governments, including gas taxes, sales taxes, video gambling funds, 911 surcharge fees and income taxes.

Similar to a measure approved by Hoffman Estates last month, the resolution asks that municipal funds be given directly to the village without "that step of holding it hostage through the state budget," Village President Ed Ritter said.

"Finances that are directed to the villages should not have to wait for an interim step in the budget before they can come to us," he said.

Revenues withheld from municipalities statewide last year, such as from gasoline and video gambling taxes, have since been released, Ritter said, but village officials remain skeptical about the reliability of money distributed by the state.

In December, trustees approved a $52.5 million budget for this year but said they may have to consider additional budget cuts if the state reduces or withholds more funding.

According to budget documents, Carpentersville predicts receiving $7.4 million in sales tax revenues and $3.6 million in state income taxes this year - both of which are collected and distributed by the state.

But the state has indicated it may cut general fund revenues by up to 50 percent, which would cause the village to re-evaluate its expenses or dip into its reserves, officials said during budget discussions.

Ritter said the village is also "very much affected" by the holdup of smaller revenue streams, such as the video gambling tax, which brought in $110,656 in 2015, and the motor fuel tax, which is expected to generate $1.6 million for road improvement projects this year.

The resolution adopted this week, which will be sent to state legislators, says the reduction or withholding of municipal revenues could result in "elimination of countless jobs, local tax increases, and programs and service cuts."