Those Testifying Generally Either Against Proposed Fee and Tax Increases
or For More Spending to Save Jobs and Services
The Nov. 3 hearing
in the County Building is one of four public meetings being held to obtain
citizen input on the proposed budget.
The Board was left in a quandary:
if they don’t enact the proposed tax and fee increases, they will need to
either increase other revenues or cut the proposed spending further, which means
more jobs lost. And in order to save
some of the jobs that will be lost under the proposed budget, more revenues or
other cuts will be needed. But with
about 70% of the budget covering employee costs already, there isn’t much left
to be cut that doesn’t entail cutting jobs.
Commissioners who
were there (Daley, Fritchey, Silvestri, and Suffredin throughout; plus, for a
portion of the time, Butler, Gainer, Gorman, Schneider, Sims, and Tobolski)
heard business owners complain about the proposed expansion of the cigarette tax
to cover all tobacco products, the proposed increase in the alcohol tax, the
proposed increase in the use tax on the sale of boats, and the proposed tax on
amusement devices (such as juke boxes, pinball, and video poker machines). The president of a homeowners’ association in
unincorporated Cook County spoke against the proposal to create special service
areas to cover the incremental costs of the Sheriff providing police
services.
They also heard from
very emotional employees in such areas as the offices of the State’s Attorney
and Public Defender who have already received layoff notices in anticipation of
the proposed budget being passed.
Doctors also appeared seeking more money for the Health & Hospitals
System. One woman testified that she was
a 29-year employee at the information desk at 26th & California
who had received notice that she was being laid off. She has just one year to go before she could
take retirement. Some of the employees
expressed disappointment that there weren’t more Commissioners there to hear
them.
The Civic Federation
also testified in support of the overall budget, explaining that it had just
issued a 77-page report on the budget.
Chairman Daley asked
those testifying against fee and tax increases if they had suggestions as to
where additional revenues might be found.
Comm. Suffredin mentioned that the County might have to look at the
property tax levy, which hasn’t been raised since the early 1990’s. Chairman Daley pointed out that none of the
elected officials had spoken in favor of maintaining the sales tax when the
Board voted to reduce it last Feb.
Chairman Daley
mentioned that the Finance Committee is expecting to vote on the proposed
revenue increases on Nov. 14.
-- reported by Priscilla Mims
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