The Forest Preserve District of Cook County (FPDCC, or “the District”) adopted its FY2025 budget on November 19, 2024, for the fiscal year that began on January 1, 2025. This is the third annual budget supported by a $40 million increase in property tax revenue approved by Cook County voters in a referendum question on the November 2022 ballot. As a result of the referendum, the Forest Preserve District’s annual adopted budget increased from $137 million in FY2022 to $182.2 million in FY2023,…
The Forest Preserve District of Cook County adopted its FY2024 budget on November 14 for the fiscal year beginning January 1. This is the second annual budget that is supported by a $40 million increase in property tax revenue approved by Cook County voters through a referendum question on the November 2022 ballot. As a result of the referendum, the Forest Preserve District’s annual adopted budget increased from $137 million in FY2022 to $182.2 million in FY2023, reflecting the first year of…
Following Cook County voters’ approval of a higher property tax levy for the Forest Preserve District of Cook County (FPDCC) via a referendum question on the November 2022 ballot, the Illinois General Assembly last week passed a law that will change the District’s funding schedule for its pension plan to an actuarially-sound 30-year plan with a 100% funding goal. It now awaits the Governor’s signature. Among other priorities, the increased annual funding of approximately $40.9 million approved…
In the State of Illinois, non-home rule units of government located in counties subject to the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL) are limited in the size of their annual property tax extension to 5% or the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), whichever is less. However, the limitation is subject to some exceptions and can be increased by referendum. The Forest Preserve District of Cook County is asking taxpayers for a larger levy to pay for pensions and a large backlog of land…
In a position statement released yesterday, the Civic Federation announced it supports passage of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County’s (FPDCC) property tax extension limitation law (PTELL) referendum that will be on the November 8 election ballot for voters in Cook County. The referendum question asks Cook County voters whether the Forest Preserve District’s property tax limiting rate should by increased by 0.025% in property tax levy year 2022, to a total rate of 0.076% of the…
In a proposal to stabilize underfunded pensions for Forest Preserve District of Cook County employees and retirees, the Forest Preserves’ Conservation and Policy Council has appealed to the Cook County Board of Commissioners to add the Forest Preserves’ pension fund to an existing intergovernmental agreement (IGA) the County has with the Cook County Pension Fund. Cook County’s IGA allows the County to contribute an amount above the statutorily required contribution to the Cook County Pension…
Now that the Cook County Forest Preserve District’s $124.7 million budget has been approved without the help of a referendum to increase property tax revenue, Forest Preserve District Commissioners acknowledge that the District’s serious financial challenges need to be addressed over the next year. A proposal for a countywide referendum that would have asked voters on the March 2020 primary ballot whether they supported a property tax increase was scrapped without a board vote after Forest…
In the State of Illinois, non-home rule units of government located in counties subject to the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL) are limited in the size of their annual property tax extension to 5% or the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), whichever is less. However, the limitation is subject to some exceptions and can be increased by referendum. The Forest Preserve District of Cook County is reportedly considering asking taxpayers for a larger levy to pay for pensions and…
2019 Civic Federation Legislative Priorities The Civic Federation's legislative priorities for 2019 include public employee pension reforms, consolidation of local government units in Illinois, enacting policies to rationalize the property tax system, creation of a Local Government Protection Authority, requiring the State of Illinois to build a rainy day fund, development and implementation of a capital improvement plan and improved…
Click here to read the full report. Civic Federation supports the Forest Preserve District of Cook County’s full proposed FY2019 Executive Budget Recommendation of $204.8 million as a reasonable one-year plan. As detailed in the report, the District has worked to control costs in recent years by eliminating personnel positions and outsourcing non-critical activities. The District has additionally focused on increasing earned revenue, such as fees and permits. However, the…
