City of DeKalb’s Self-Imposed Bonded Debt Limit

In “A Look at City of DeKalb Debt,” we calculated whether the debt carried by the City of DeKalb currently exceeds the legal debt limit imposed upon non-Home Rule communities. It does not. Also, in 2010 DeKalb passed a debt management policy that actually sets a stricter limit on gross bonded debt than the state…

Total Property Tax Rates in DeKalb County, City

Here are some property tax numbers expressed as dollars per $100 of assessed valuation. The DeKalb County averages come from this state site, the city’s from my own tax bills. [table id=40 /] Other 2009 Property Tax Rate Averages Statewide — 6.43 Cook County — 5.89 Collar Counties — 6.47 Rest of State — 7.71…

A Closer Look at DeKalb Per Capita Debt

This table was part of Friday’s long post, but deserves some attention of its own. [table id=34 /] You can find the breakdown of the FY2010 overlapping debt in this document, on p. 153. FY2010 ended June 30, 2010. Let’s look at some of the GO bond issues since that date: DeKalb County: $16,000,000, 10/14/2010…

Council in the Twilight Zone

Better late than never? Here are a few comments on the City of DeKalb meetings Monday night. Group Therapy When I switched on the Committee of the Whole meeting (admittedly not right at the beginning) there was an immediate feeling of disorientation. The mayor was complaining about a constituent taking up too much of his…

DeKalb Spent $1.81 Million on Reduction in Force

After receiving and posting (thanks to the Attorney General) information pertaining to the Voluntary Separation Program (VSP), I then asked the City of DeKalb to produce the figures to account for the $1.1 million they borrowed to spend on the Reduction in Force (RIF), including the VSP. The reply? “There is no public record that…

Rockford Firefighters Get 6% Pay Raise

An arbitrator awarded a 6% pay raise to Rockford firefighters. City officials said the award will cost taxpayers an estimated $618,000 in 2011 and more than $1.2 million in 2012 when the 6.1 percent wage is in effect for a full year. Arbitrator Robert Perkovich rejected the city’s offer of a 2 percent wage increase…