By Ron Ulmer
Of the 1% sales tax increase implemented this year, I completely support the ¼% sales tax increase for McLean County to provide mental health services since the State has shirked its moral and financial responsibility to care for the mentally ill. However, I opposed the service increase by Connect Transit from the sales tax increase as I see many buses running empty during off peak hours. The other proposed uses of the sales tax fell by the wayside, so have you wondered where this money has gone?
Will the lion’s share of the incremental money go to infrastructure maintenance or to more fully fund the municipal employees’ retirement funds? I doubt it. Bloomington gave Kroger’s $2.5 million to entice the recently remodeled Normal Kroger’s to move across College Avenue to Bloomington. Additionally, Bloomington Mayor Renner states that Bloomington has to control the property of the former Mennonite Hospital. While I agree with Normal paying for the extension of Greenbrier Drive to support development, Normal gave additional incentives to ensure Dehstil’s expansion would take place in Normal. Dehstil already had plans to expand, most likely in McLean County or certainly in central Illinois The result is that taxpayer money was wasted since the incremental economic benefit to the area is nearly zero. Money spent with no expected return.
How can I come to these conclusions? When a government entity receives revenue incremental to the budgeted amount, it spends the money on any whim or pet project. For example, when the economy boomed under Reagan and then Clinton, the State of Illinois spent the windfall tax revenue above the budgeted amount on new and pet projects. Little, if any, was spent on catching up the State of Illinois’ woefully underfunded public pension plans. Even Governor Pat Quinn’s incremental temporary State to pay down the State debt and catchup contributions to the State pension plans went to new program spending. We paid the higher temporary income tax that went to politicians’ pet projects or more cynically “to buy votes”. Unfortunately, I see most or all the incremental sales tax revenue not designated for specific uses will be spent on programs and projects relatively low on the citizen’s priority list. We the citizens need to demand a report at the end of the first sales tax year showing expenditures on unbudgeted items and over budget expenditures. I hope they prove me wrong.
