Normal City Manager Pam Reece says the town will be keeping a watchful eye on the spring legislative session in Springfield.
Reece said there's no sign so far lawmakers would try to use revenue that goes to municipalities to help plug a $3.2 billion hole in the state budget.
"We will continue to monitor the situation through the Illinois Municipal League and frankly we have great relationships with our state delegates so we will touch base with them if we start hearing things," Reece said on WGLT's Sound Ideas.
In the past, lawmakers and governors have sometimes eyed municipal income tax and sales tax sharing money during tight fiscal times.
Gov.r JB Pritzker will present his proposed budget to lawmakers in February. The General Assembly will have until the end of May to pass a spending plan for the fiscal year that starts July first.
Tax levy
The Town of Normal has cut its property tax rate next year to minimize the effect of rising property assessments on homeowners. The council has approved a levy that will increase taxes by less than $4 for the owner of a home valued at $165,000.
Reece said if the tax rate was the same as last year, the impact would have been much larger.
“Had we just taken advantage of the growth in the value of properties and kept the rate the same from 2023 an average home, an average property taxpayer would be required to pay almost $78 per year more," said Reece, based on a $165,000 home.
The council chose to increase the tax levy by about $700,000 and reduce the tax rate some. Town staff said that will help pay for public safety pension contributions. If the tax rate had stayed the same, the town would have received $2.3 million more than last year.
Pop-up party ordinance
Next month, the town council will resume consideration of proposed ordinance changes to discourage pop-up parties. One recent pop-up party resulted in a fatal shooting. A different gathering for a children's athletic event turned ugly with weapons, too.
There was significant community pushback to the initial proposal that some feared would unduly limit freedom of assembly and the ability to enjoy town parks.
Reece said a series of meetings with stakeholders to listen to and understand their concerns has resulted in constructive dialogue, adding the limit on the number of people who can assemble in public and amplified audio are the major concerns.
"What does it mean if I have some music playing and I have a cookout at my home. So, it's basically getting an understanding how people interpret our original draft ordinance and how we can modify it accordingly," said Reece.
The revised proposal will go the council Dec. 2, she said, noting the town still hopes to deter pop-up parties with the measure.
Connect Transit
Reece said she'll wait for results of a study before drawing any conclusions about the effect of adding the former Showbus program in rural McLean County to Connect Transit, the service has the potential to be a good thing for Bloomington Normal.
"I think things we will consider is how does an expansion into rural McLean County affect the current services and does it negatively impact us or can it be positively impacting our community," said Reece.
Connect Transit's charter is for bus service within Bloomington-Normal and a change would require an amendment to the intergovernmental agreement for municipal funding of the organization.
The county board has decided to look for a different service provider than Showbus to take on the state grant-funded program for rural areas.
