Here’s an excerpt from my latest at DeKalb County Online: Thanks to recent discussion of DeKalb Public Library’s plan to pay back taxpayers for emergency help with its expansion project, much of DeKalb knows about DKPL’s $4.5 million bank loan to keep construction going during Illinois’ budget impasse. Not many know about the bank loan…
Tag: debt
Thoughts on Property and Sales Taxes in DeKalb, and Where We Go from Here
The City of DeKalb is close to setting its property tax levy for the year. It is requesting the same amount as last year. I read in the paper that 2nd Ward Alderman Tom Teresinski is saying we will pay the same amount in property taxes as last year because even though the rate will…
58 Banks Closed So Far in 2011
There have been 58 bank closures through July 22, five of them in Illinois, including one in St. Charles. Daily Markets looks at the current climate. Looking back, there were 157 bank failures in 2010, 140 in 2009 and 25 in 2008. While the financials of bigger banks have been stabilizing on the back of…
Bank Troubles 2010
The Washington Post reports that 2010 brought the largest number of bank failures since 1992. The total comes to 157 this year, the most since the savings & loan crisis. The Federal Insurance Deposit Corporation (FDIC) lists 16 Illinois banks with 2010 closure dates. The list of failed institutions at the FDIC is filled with…
Comments on Debt Restructuring
Here’s a link to my letter to the editor published at Northern Star today. In reading it you’ll see that I didn’t actually attribute absurdity to the DeKalb City Council, but that’s probably a quibble.
Fun with CAFR & the Liberry
The DeKalb Public Library has a current annual budget of $1.9 million, yet apparently has enough funds on hand to buy property valued at $1.8 million. That’s quite a reserve! Normally for slush I’d call for a refund (about $40 per resident) but perhaps we should ask DKPL to help the city save for the…
City Budget Open Thread…Mayday! Mayday!
The proposed City of DeKalb FY 2011 budget has total expenditures going up by about $5 million over last year, mostly due to increased spending on the downtown TIF, health insurance and the airport. The budget as drafted will be balanced IF: there are cuts of 25-30 staff (or, alternatively, everyone takes a 12% pay…
City of DeKalb to Honor Contracts When It Feels Like It
Last night I once again spent four hours in Bizzaro World. It was very hot inside and about the same hot outside, yet the exit from the city council meeting felt like a breath of fresh air. Well, it did until a certain city official tracked me down as we stood outside in little groups…
Municipal Morality
If you peruse the city’s check registers you start getting a feel for certain patterns. Based on a sample of five months over the past 15, DeKalb on average pays out about $5000 per month on cell phone service, $600 for locks and keys, maybe up to $1000 or so for janitorial supplies and sometimes…
EPI Letter
Appearing today in the Chronicle: To the editor: In a controversial action late last year, the city of DeKalb hired a financial consultant, Executive Partners Inc., to analyze our finances and make recommendations for putting the city on better financial footing. EPI’s evaluation, “Strategic Financial Evaluation & Planning Process,” was distributed to council members May…