Hartstein: Understand your tax bill when you vote this spring

As you begin to focus on upcoming local elections, this is a good time to get a better understanding of your real estate tax bills that reflect the taxing bodies in your community.

Yes, we all know we get a bill that either we pay or that our lenders pay through our escrow accounts, but I suspect most do not really have a true grasp of what is on those bills.

If you looked over the bills, you would see that there are a list of taxing bodies and rates and amounts attributable to each. Those taxing bodies include the county, village, school districts (one for the high school and the other for your elementary district), community college district, township, library, park district, sanitary district and possibly others.

Illinois has more taxing districts than most other states. That in itself is another issue that needs to be addressed. Each of those taxing districts has its own board, budget and tax levy. Most of those local boards are the ones that have elections coming up in the spring.

How each board operates, and what they do or do not do, is reflected in their budgets. You can get a pretty good idea about what those taxing bodies are doing or cannot do by following the money. How each gets revenue varies and includes federal or state money, fees, fines and other taxes, with the school districts being most reliant on property taxes, therefore, being the biggest amount on the property tax bill.

Illinois funds schools at a lower level than most other states, creating too much reliance on property taxes.

The villages have a greater mix of revenue, including sales tax revenue, in addition to a portion of the state income tax based on the population of each town.

The budgets are also impacted by requirements from the state that often are not funded and known as unfunded mandates. That could include programs that must be provided by law or benefits to employees that have to be provided. It could include such things as pension benefits that have to be paid or other benefits that the local taxing bodies have no say in, but have to pay regardless.

When the state has a tight budget situation, there are often cutbacks in revenue that might otherwise go to the taxing bodies, which means a cutback in services and programs, or the need to increase fees and taxes, most notably property taxes.

That creates the need for the taxing bodies to make tough decisions, and the need for good people to be in office to make those decisions. As a result of COVID-19, the challenges are even greater with the economy in bad shape, creating less money coming in from income taxes or sales taxes as the case may be.

That makes the situation worse and even more questionable, depending upon what Congress does in the next relief package in terms of money for states and local governments.

The ability of local taxing bodies to weather a bad economic storm depends on their prudence in providing rainy day reserves or a good economic track record that would result in a good bond rating, which would allow them to borrow, if needed, and appropriate at lower and more favorable rates. Just another important reason to have good people sitting around the table on the boards of the local taxing bodies.

It is important that the people who serve have a good perspective on government. Unlike businesses, it is not about profits and losses, but about the people they serve. In a business, when things slow down, it usually makes sense to often make cuts, and when things are booming to expand.

In the public sector, however, it is the other way around. When times are bad, the need for support expands. This demands understanding and creativity and good stewards to insure the proper balance so that the public is properly served. This applies to all public bodies and the taxing districts that have people running for office.

So, where do you come into play? Having a better understanding of how the pieces of the economic puzzle of local taxing bodies work should give you a better road map for action as voters and citizens. First and foremost, as I have previously advocated, who you elect to these local boards is important to insure they have the right skill set and perspective to meet the challenges of the taxing bodies serving your community.

Understanding the domino effect of revenue sources might well influence your advocacy as well. You may wish to push our Senators and Representatives to include state and local funding in the next relief package from Congress to mitigate the economic impact of COVID.

You may want to support local business to increase the flow of sales taxes into the state and local coffers. You may want to urge leaders on local boards to prioritize their programs in terms of needs vs. wants. You may want to push for strong fiscal responsibility to ensure better bond ratings.

You may wish to push the state legislators to think very carefully about what mandates they create without providing funding. You likewise may wish to advocate for increased funding for certain programs and taxing bodies that you feel strongly about and push for cuts on others.

You may wish to advocate for how you think revenue can be best raised to help pay for priorities you care about, whether through user fees or tax increases.

The future and direction of your communities and the tax bodies that serve you are in your hands.

• Elliott Hartstein of Northbrook is a former village president of Buffalo Grove.