Golinski: Yorkville Plans Small Tax Levy Reductions

In light of a grassroots referendum initiative, Yorkville's mayor said the city plans to reduce its levy by 3-5 percent for the next 3 or 4 years.

Mayor Gary Golinski believes the 20 percent levy reduction Kendall County Tax Revolt is asking of all taxing bodies through a non-binding referendum might be a bit much for Yorkville. Smaller reductions in the levy, which is the amount of property tax money a taxing body requests, are more manageable, Golinski said. He applauded the efforts of Kendall County Tax Revolt, a grassroots effort that has been encouraging lower property taxes and educating property owners about tax assessments. On Monday, local activists Mark Johnson, Judie Burks, Jan Alexander and Greg O’Neil submitted a petition to ask voters in November if every levy of every governing body in Kendall County should be reduced by 20 percent. The results won't require anything …

•  5 Comments
• Photos (1)

Reasonable Conservative

12:39 pm on Thursday, August 16, 2012

I agree. I am all in for working with others to replace government officials who vote to spend on unnecessary expenses like the rec center. We can do this.   more ›

Patch Poll: Reduce Property Tax Levies by 20 Percent?

If you had to vote today, what would you say about the non-binding referendum urging all taxing bodies to reduce their levies?

Shall every levy of every governing body within the County of Kendall, Illinois be reduced 20% over the previous year’s levy? That might be an easy "yes" for you. Who enjoys paying property taxes? The premise of the question is thoughtful, though. A grassroot group called the Kendall County Property Tax Revolt circulated petitions to get this non-binding referendum on the November ballot. Elected officials won't be required to do anything based on the outcome of the referendum, but group leaders are hoping it sends a message to trim the non-essentials and provide Kendall County property owners some tax relief. The levy process itself can be a little hard to understand. The "levy" is essentially the amount of money a government body - say, …

•  64 Comments
• Photos (1)

Tim

12:02 pm on Thursday, August 9, 2012

Ah, personal attacks. Does it bother you that I do have a job that allows me the free time to post here? Does it bother you that I chose not to live in Kendall County when I built my house, because I took the time to look over the finances of the taxing bodies? Does it bother you that all of your problems could be avoided if you spent more time looking at the already existing data, instead of …   more ›

Two More Public Hearings Scheduled on REC Center Purchase

Yorkville is considering purchasing the REC Center for $4.29 million - a $2.5 million contract paid over 20 years at 6 percent interest.

The math behind the proposed REC Center purchase is buried on page 1021 of a 1120 packet for Tuesday's City Council meeting. If approved, city would buy the building (including four rental units), equipment, business and land for $2.5 million, City Administrator Bart Olson said in a memo to City Council members. The owners, Walker Custom Homes, would finance the installment contract at 6 percent interest over 20 years, so the city would pay them $17,910 a month for a total of $4,298,586. "The contract will also contain a no-prepayment clause," Olson wrote. "The main reason the property owner was willing to sell the property for less than market value was that the property is a self-financed purchase installment contract." A recent …

•  7 Comments
• Videos (1)

Kendall County Property Tax Revolt Focuses on Education

A steady stream of residents talked taxes and politics Friday afternoon in Yorkville's Town Square Park.

Robert Bell of Montgomery pinned a “fiscally responsible awareness” ribbon to his shirt for the Kendall County Property Tax Revolt on Friday afternoon. It was fashioned from a dollar bill. A one dollar bill. “It seems to be time for the local governments to be a little more austere, because a lot of us who pay taxes have had to be more austere,” Bell said. The “revolt” didn’t involve chants or signs Friday afternoon, but rather a steady stream of people gathering in Yorkville’s Town Square Park. The crowd seemed to peak around 75 people at any particular time. Organizers Mark Johnson and Judie and Don Burks passed out information on appealing tax assessments, shared some casual conversation and gathered e-mail addresses for a mailing list…

•  11 Comments
• Photos (3)

Mark A Johnson

9:15 am on Sunday, June 10, 2012

@C - I agree with you. If you search home rule Illinois on the Internet you will find many Illinois communities had referendums to become home rule or not. All turned it down. When a community reaches 25,000 they automatically become home rule based on Illinois' Constitution. Here is a Patch article worthy of reading: http://hinsdale.patch.com/articles/home-rule-referendum-fails-after-86-percent-…   more ›

City Leaders Seeking Grant for Lighting Downtown

Yorkville aldermen approved a grant application for lighting along Route 47 upgrades.

Talking Taxes: Property Taxes Affect Local Elected Officials, Too

Yorkville Patch skimmed the tax bills for 10 local officials - and one frequent candidate. You can probably relate to their situations.

If you’re frustrated that your tax bill has gone up or remained about the same as your home’s value has dipped, fear not: Many of your local elected representatives are in the same boat. Yorkville Patch skimmed tax bills for 10 county board members, Yorkville aldermen, and District 115 board members – and one perpetual candidate. Two saw small decreases when comparing their 2010 tax bill to this year’s, while two saw small increases and five saw increases of 9 percent or more.     Meanwhile, all saw their home’s assessed value drop in the same time period. Four saw their assessed values drop by 15 percent or more between their 2010 tax bill and this year’s bill. (We are paying taxes based on the 2011 equalized assessed value this year…

•  11 Comments
• Photos (1)

Kevin Wagner

10:21 am on Saturday, July 14, 2012

Try using the telephone to contact Mr Johnson. Public forums are not the only way to communicate. My experience with a telephone has been pretty positive.   more ›

Few New Books, No New Hours for Yorkville Library

Library leaders are working on a draft budget that includes little new spending and a small surplus.

The Yorkville Public Library’s main operating fund is expected to end the fiscal year with money in the bank, thanks to unexpected property taxes and a special transfer aldermen approved in September. The draft budget for the next fiscal year, which starts May 1, includes little money for new books and minimal increases in staff salaries. Reduced library hours, which went into effect May 1, 2011, will continue, Library Director Michelle Pfister said. The library board’s finance committee reviewed the draft budget Tuesday, and the library board is expected to discuss and possibly approve it at its meeting Monday, which starts at 7 p.m. at the library. At one point, city leaders had expected the library operations fund—which is considered …

•  4 Comments
• Photos (1)

MikeK

5:53 pm on Thursday, March 8, 2012

Ask Todd Milliron. He seems to be the super sleuth to possible govt back door dealings and misappropriation of funds. :) Your right about the library personnel, they are fantastic and not noticed much for the one and usually best govt service provided. The money that is in your tax bill has a dirty little secret. It might be put into the general fund like many other library entities that collect …   more ›

Hatcher Disappointed in Governor's Budget

State Rep. Kay Hatcher (R-Yorkville) thought the budget address lacked detail.

Editor's note: State Rep. Kay Hather provided the following news release on Governor Pat Quinn's budget address. For more information on the budget itself, see this article or this article from Illinois Statehouse News. The lack of details in Governor Quinn’s budget address Wednesday was very disappointing, State Representative Kay Hatcher said. Hatcher (R-Yorkville) said after the speech, lawmakers still don’t know how the Governor plans to handle his proposed closure and consolidation of state facilities, or his stated goals of curbing Medicaid costs and restoring solvency to our state pension systems. “I have received word that the Governor plans to ‘consolidate’ human services offices in my district, but today I’m still working to get …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)