Tax bills are out. Taxes on a house in Morris might be double what they are for a comparable home in Coal City. (Yes, taxes in Coal City are substantially lower than last year.)A Morris resident is likely to be paying more in taxes than an owner of a comparable house in places such as Naperville. Except Morris doesn't have the services that Naperville has, like park districts and public transportation.
28 comments:
Well Naperville just can't afford a chicago style city attorney like the people of Morris have. When you want the best and brightest and even nice hair, you gotta pay. Looks don't come cheap.
Thank your local school districts for overspending and involuntarily committing us to paying back their bonds. If you took the school components out of my Mo-tax bill, it would be lowered by more than HALF.
The purpose of TIF is to generate new development that will pay property taxes. Not only will the new $9.3 Million city hall not pay any property taxes, it is also consuming prime Route 47 frontage. This property is uniquely attractive to business because of its size and location. There it nothing else like it.
The new businesses would have paid substantial property and sales taxes, lessening the burden on residential taxpayers.
There is no reason that a city hall needs to be situated on this prime real estate. Once again, the taxpayers will get socked for the improvident decisions of our city council. And this one will cost us dearly for many years to come.
Yeah....but Morris is going to have one helluva city hall...and Dickie will have one helluva office (and nice drapes, too!)
Why with the influx of new citizens to Morris which creates new or expanded subdivisions, are the current residents taxes still going up?
How much did we pay in taxes for the work on Rt. 6 which has been going on for how long?
Despite what a skeptical commenter said about my property taxes on the previous post, indeed my taxes in CC are 26% lower than last year. For real.
I've an observation about government, looking in from the outside. After observing a politician for a while, you can usually pigeonhole them into one of two groups: those that are true public servants, in the best sense of the phrase, versus those that feed at the public trough. These are the ones that are in it for the power and wish to enrich themselves or their friends, at the expense of the taxpayer.
Let's watch the city hall scenario unfold and do some pigeonholing.
Our city attorney has quarter-million dollar hair.
Politicians like to build monuments to themselves. Just look at White Oak School. It should be called White Elephant School. The boobs who approved this project gave no thought to the added expense of operating and maintaining this monstrosity. Now the city council is about to make the same blunder with the city hall.
The politicians are addicted to tax money like it's cocaine.
Part of why Morris taxes are so high is the TIF shell game.
TIF diverts money away from schools and to the city. The schools still get the money they need, but in order to make up for money lost to TIF, residential taxpayers pay more taxes. How? A school first determines how much money is needed. That amount become a levy. The levy is spread out among taxpayers based on the assessed value of their property. If the levy cannot be assessed against a property or is limited due to TIF, then all of the other taxpayers must make up the difference. (Senior citizen freezes have the same affect.)
This way, city officials can brag about how low city tax rates are, and blame the schools for high tax bills - even though the city is partly responsible for those high school taxes. The mayor thinks people are too stupid to see how this works.
I think it's great that TIF money was used to fund another bar for Lagoon saloon. Just what we need here; more drunken 21-40 year olds getting into bar brawls. Maybe all the asbestos at center school contributed to their dysfunctional behavior
With the extensive amount of weekend cocktailing that occurs under the noses of local police, you would think that they would have easy pickins for DUI's. But then again, it is generally all their good buddies who are operating under the influence.
The "boobs" that approved White Oak are the taxpayers who voted for the construction banck in 2000. The school board pointed out the first few years of operation the savings of operating White Oak versus the three previous buildings which were 100 yaers, 70 years and 40 years old. Yes the building maintenance fund has actually declined from 10 years ago. Know what your talking about before you start making accusations!
If a new city hall is to be built, it should include offices for an in-house city attorney. Preferably someone that is not related to the mayor.
When is District 54 going to hire a new Chief Boob for the district? More importantly, how much vacation is he going to get?
Was it the "Boobs" who sited the White Oak in Nettle Creek District too?
check out www.thecoalcityblog.blogspot.com to add comments.
My boobs hurt.
I have lost respect for Shugart and Wolf because they did not question the budget, and because they rubber-stamped the mayor's pick for alderman. It is time for change at city hall.
This new city hall building will be just enough rope for some of our local pols. Voters will drive by the new building then go home and stare at their new tax bill and have a conniption. I think the bogus city attorney bills will end the mayors run next time around. Also Mike Farrel can put all the spin on this white elephant but the people that take the time to vote will not put up with such inept running of the city.
I agree. Between the city hall and attorney bills, Dick is done.
With 3,000 famiys in Morris and this years city budget at $47,000,000.00. What the f are they thinking. $15,000.00 a family, has the mayor and council have a clue about finances. God how they must run their own personal dollars. The last chairman of finance could not run garage let alone the city dollars.
Sereno abandoned his supporters also, when he rubber stamped the mayors pick for aldermen. My wife and I will not vote for him again.
And what did Sereno say when you told him he lost your vote when he rubber stamped the mayors pick for alderman?
Actually, had all the alderman voted for the Republican Committee choice, or choice made by County Repubs, not necessarily city Repubs, THAT would have been rubber stamping.
It appears they looked at both candidates and made their choice.
If things were so polarized along party lines in the city council, they would have rubber stamped the County Repubs candidate.
Fortunately, the Aldermen and Alderwoman are thoughtful, independent thinkers.
Think about it.
And this is not saying anything bad or good about either candidate. Both are fine individuals but only one could fill the vacancy.
Check out what Dickie gave away to the police union. TIF money? Retirement bennies galore.
obviously someone hasn't a clue about the 'bar scene' here in Morris; ".....to fund another bar for the Lagoon Saloon".....uh Hello?? For one, The bar in question WAS ALREADY IN EXISTANCE!!!! ( you can't hold more than one liquor license, anyway.......--if you'd have done your homework, you'd KNOW that!!!)Secondly, ".....more drunken 21-40 year olds"? "bar brawls"?? You can't be SERIOUS!? You criticize and chastise us for the type of business we are, yet you haven't the foggiest idea about who we are, what kind of businessmen and women we are, or the standards and principles by which we conduct our businesses. I personally know (or at least know of) ALL the bar owners in this town, and let me tell you, "Anonymous"....---THEY ARE ALL GOOD BUSINESS OWNERS!!!
The only thing "Dysfunctional" here are your ignorant comments and unjustified remarks! C'mon down to the bar.....we do plenty more than drink. I'll even buy your glass of milk.
I have to agree with Brian...I think the statement made regarding "21 - 40yr olds & bar brawls" is just completely ridiculous. Yes, unfortunately from time to time a disagreement will break out in a bar, but how is that the bar owner's fault? I do not know Brian Steed on a personal level, but I have heard many people in our community speak of him with high regards. He takes pride in his business and it shows!! He is always there when a member of his community needs help and he treats his customers like friends. I have been into his establishment a few times and I have always been greeted with a friendly smile. So, the bottom line is this, Brian is a business owner in OUR community. He pays taxes just like the rest of us. He doesn't cause trouble and he gives back to the community by holding benefits and making donations whenever a member of this community is in need. He is the same as any other business owner in Morris and as such, I feel he has every right to ask for a loan from the city, if such a loan is available. It's not like he is trying to do anything secretly or illegally. Yes, maybe you don't like the "bar scene" and that is your right. But don't critize someone because his choice of business isn't what you would prefer.
So, to all of you that critize Brian and every other bar owner in Morris for trying to improve their business, I suggest you take Brian up on his offer and check out his bar!! Oh but wait, maybe you already have; in fact, maybe it was YOU who started that brawl in the bar the other night!!! Hmmmm....now I have to wonder!!
Good luck Brian on your new venture!!!
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