Higher Gas Taxes In Joliet's 2020 Proposed Budget

JOLIET, IL — At Monday night's special meeting of the Joliet City Council, interim city manager Steve Jones and city finance director Jim Ghedotte called for gasoline taxes and garbage collection fee increases for residents, including a city gasoline tax increase of 1 to 4 cents per gallon.

The recommendation from city staff comes four months after newly elected city councilwoman Sherri Reardon suggested Joliet increase the city's fuel taxes for the residents of Joliet. Top city officials including Ghedotte and Jones have taken up Reardon's suggestion and included a fuel tax in the proposed 2020 city budget.

But they're not stopping there.

There's a host of fee and tax increases in their proposed 2020 city budget that are intended to help Joliet generate more revenue.

Additionally, just last week, the Joliet City Council voted 7-1 to follow Jones' recommendation to jack up the city's downtown parking rates. Besides hourly rate increases, people with monthly parking passes will have an increase from $40 to $60 per month.

RELATED: Downtown Parking Fees Increase, Council Votes 7-1

The city of Joliet's proposed budget handout from Ghedotte lists the following "revenue enhancements" in his proposed 2020 budget:

• Garbage Collection Fee: would increase 2.4 percent, estimated to generate $336,000.
• Building permits: the fee would increase from $6.25 per $1,000 to $10 per $1,000 of as-built value, estimated to generate $722,000.
• Cannabis tax: is estimated to generate $250,000.
• Hotel tax: would increase from 7 percent to 10 percent, nearly $1.2 million in new revenue.
• Contractor registration: The city would establish a fee of $200 for new contractors and $150 for renewal, $585,600 in new revenue.
• Ambulance fees: Increase Medicare reimbursements and billing for other services, totaling $400,000.
• Gasoline taxes: would increase 1 to 4 cents per gallon, generating at least $1.8 million in new city revenue.
• Over the counter fees: would increase other miscellaneous fees in community development department, to generate an extra $162,000.
• Notice of foreclosure fees: the city aims to generate $200,000 to register foreclosed properties.
• Property tax: increase of 4.9 percent or $1,865,000 from growth and new construction.
• A bond of $6.5 million for library infrastructure upgrades: "It is estimated it will cost each household $8 per year," the proposed city budget states.

Where would most of the new money go?

$6.5 million for downtown Joliet Public Library improvements.

$3 million in bonds for infrastructure improvements to the city's two 40-year-old downtown parking decks.

$4 million for new city vehicles.

$17.5 million in capital expenditures from the water and sewer fund.

Will the fuel taxes and fee increase help fund rising city salaries and pensions?

At least 50 members of the Joliet Police Supervisors Association, led by Sgt. Pat Cardwell, get a 7 percent raise in January. Many Joliet Police sergeants and lieutenants already make at least $125,000 in base salary, so the raises for Cardwell and fellow Joliet Police sergeants and lieutenants will likely be around $8,000, if not more.

Joliet Patch previously reported that back in January, the Joliet City Council approved a new three-year contract with Cardwell's union that grants them a 7-percent pay raise in January 2020. The raise gave them a 2 percent cost of living increase plus a 5-percent raise for allowing the city to phase out and not replace the four police captain positions once the current members retire. In 2021 and 2022, Cardwell's union will also get 2 percent pay increases as well. In other words, the city needs to generate at least $400,000 in new revenue starting in 2020 to offset the significant pay hikes for Cardwell and his police management union.

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What about retirement payouts for employees? Is the city of Joliet controlling those costs?

That does not appear to be the case. The gasoline increase and other fee hikes, though, will help the city make up the difference for the estimated $1.1 million that is budgeted in 2020 for employee payouts upon retirement for unused sick, unused vacation and compensatory time banks.

Does the proposed 2020 budget control the overtime expenses at the Joliet Fire Department?

In the past, Mayor Bob O'Dekirk and 2018 interim city manager Marty Shanahan called out members of the Joliet Fire Department for phoning in sick as part of a fire department scheme to significantly boost their overtime pay. The proposed budget from Jones calls for allocating $2,226,900 for Joliet Fire Department overtime pay. The 2019 city budget, put forth by Shanahan, had only $1.5 million authorized for overtime pay at Joliet's FD.

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Would the tax and fee increases help the city of Joliet add more employees?

The proposal from Jones and Ghedotte calls for funding a permit clerk, $46,000 base salary, an additional building safety inspector, $56,000 base salary, upgrading a planning assistant from part-time to full-time, a court services coordinator at $77,000 in salary, an additional assistant corporate counsel, $70,000 in salary, to handle prosecutions. "A reduction in contracting outside firms will offset the costs of the new position," Ghedotte's budget spreadsheet reads,

What about the city taxpayers' costs for police and fire pensions?

Because the city's salaries for police officers and firefighters are among the highest in the state, and continue to soar, Joliet's pension obligations are also rising at staggering levels. Ghedotte asked for an increase of more than $1 million for Joliet firefighters pensions. The pension costs for the Joliet Police Department would increase even more, by $1,317,000.

In total, Joliet intends to spend at least $2.3 million more on pension contributions for Joliet Police officers and Joliet firefighters compared to the current year's budget. The city's contribution to the Illinois Municipal Retirement System for city workers would also increase by $522,000.

What about the downtown ballpark, the Old Joliet Prison, etc?

Joliet has proposed spending $288,642 for the downtown Gateway Center train station, $186,813 on the historic Union Station and $300,500 at the Old Joliet Prison worldwide tourism site. There's also $301,000 proposed for upgrades to the Joliet Slammers baseball park.

Where else would Joliet spend city revenue?

The proposed budget calls for allocating $475,000 for the historic Rialto Square Theatre, $250,000 for a citywide comprehensive plan, $289,278 for completion of the city/county courthouse parking lot, and $275,000 for the Joliet Area Historical Museum.