The Scorecard was finalized and approved by the Finance Commission on January 14, 2011. 1
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The source of the data in the chart is the US Census Bureau. 7
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Our goal is to move Glen Ellyn to the right on this chart thereby taking some pressure off our residents in terms of the total property taxes paid to the Village (and to the schools, the park district, etc.). 10
This chart uses data from 2009 a year when most of the peers suffered a significant downturn in their sales tax revenues. 11
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Note the Glen Ellyn taxes used throughout this study are based on a tax bill for a property located in District 41. The tax rate in School District 89 is slightly lower. 24
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A large portion of the peer group is bunched around the $400,000 level. Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills are outliers due to the high residential property values. 33
The high property values in Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills allow them to fund operations with taxes at lower rates. 34
Despite their lower tax rates, Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills still generate high tax bills. 35
For taxes going to schools, GE is near the high end. 36
For park taxes, GE is in the middle. Hinsdale generates their park revenues through the village rather than a separate park related taxing entity. 37
For taxes going to the city/village and the library, GE is near the low end. As we will see later, this is due in a large part to GE s volunteer fire department but it is also due to GE s relatively low staffing levels. Hinsdale s number here includes an amount attributable to park activities. 38
Glen Ellyn is spending seven percentage points more on schools and three percentage points less on village/library. 39
This is a repeat of an earlier slide looking at the median total tax bill again. 40
This is the tax bill as a percent of the total property value. 41
Here we show the tax bill as a percent of median family income. 42
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This chart is informational only until the relative populations are considered, no conclusions can be drawn. 46
This slide is a potential cause for concern but it can t be judged without knowing more about growth of specific revenue components and growth of expenses. 47
Here are the revenues per capita which is a fair way to compare communities. One major reason that Glen Ellyn is at the left side of this chart is our volunteer fire department we don t need revenues to fund costs that we don t incur. 48
Glen Ellyn is in the middle of the pack in terms of our reliance on property taxes to fund our government services/operations. 49
At first this seems like good news but to really understand this, we need to study the sources of the property taxes (residential vs non residential). The next two slides provide this breakdown. 50
This is generally good news it is desirable to be at the left side of this chart. The lower the number the less funding from property taxes on residents. 51
Unfortunately, this is not good news. It is desirable to be at the right side of this chart. The more revenue that can be generated from non residential sources, the less financial burden there is for resident taxpayers. Glen Ellyn would benefit from a robust economic development program that would increase the overall value of our commercial property and increase the property tax revenue generated therefrom. 52
Glen Ellyn appears to be more reliant on the state income tax than the peers but this chart (from 2009) does not reflect the impact of the new home rule sales tax revenues. In future years, Glen Ellyn will be more in line with the peers. 53
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RTA is Regional Transportation Authority. 55
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This is an important slide. It shows that Glen Ellyn has a relatively steady stream of sales tax revenues. While the peers were outperforming us through 2006 2007, the economic downturn has taken a larger toll on the peers. 57
This is another way of demonstrating that Glen Ellyn s sales taxes are more stable than those of the peer group. 58
This slide measures the total increase in sales taxes from 1999 to the peak year (for some that was 2006, for some it was 2007). Some of the peers dramatically increased their sales tax base over this time period. Those who are/were more dependent on auto sales (Elmhurst, Arlington Heights and Downers Grove) did not see meaningful increases. 59
This measures the change from the peak year to 2009. Glen Ellyn suffered the least. 60
Glen Ellyn s position looks respectable on this chart but it is important to remember this is 2009 data which was a very poor year for sales tax revenue. 61
This chart includes 2009 and the recent peak year for each community. On this slide and the next, it is easy to see that some communities should expect a significant rebound in sales taxes per capita. 62
This chart shows the built in growth (recovery) in sales taxes that each community can expect. 63
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This chart compares overall spending for Glen Ellyn and the peers but the major difference in spending on fire departments muddies the comparison. 66
This chart removes the fire departments. Glen Ellyn is spending more than the peers on public works and infrastructure and less on general government and police protection. 67
Our position on this is good news but it is heavily influenced by Glen Ellyn s volunteer fire department. The next several charts compare components without the influence of the fire department issue. 68
Glen Ellyn is at the low end in terms of spending for general government. 69
We are also at the low end for spending on police on a per capita basis. 70
This is the key slide as it relates to the fire department issue. Glen Ellyn spends approximately $116 less per person that the peer median. Multiply $116 by our 27,000 population and we estimate that the volunteer fire departments saves us over $3 million per year. 71
If our volunteer fire department was rated poorly, this low cost trade off would not make sense however, our fire department is rated among the best of the peers who have fullypaid staff. 72
The next three slides can be somewhat misleading because of the way villages report their costs/spending. The chart on page 76 provides the best comparison of public works/infrastructure spending. 73
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We have not fully investigated the Western Springs number it may be invalid for comparisons to the other peers. 78
This chart is distorted by the paid fire department staffing. 79
This slide presents the best comparison of staffing by removing the fire department employees. 80
This is good news for Glen Ellyn but the more important slide is the next one which makes the comparison on a per capita basis. 81
This chart demonstrates another benefit of the volunteer fire department low pension obligations on a per capita basis. 82
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This slide and the next one are informational only they show a one year snapshot which doesn t provide much useful perspective. 84
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Glen Ellyn is among the lowest in debt per capita. 87
We are also THE lowest in debt as a percentage of our assesed property value. 88
We are among the most well funded with our pension obligations. 89
We have the lowest amount of unfunded pensions on a per capita basis. 90
We are well positioned in terms of General Fund reserves. 91
Our credit rating is strong, despite our relatively small size (in population). 92
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