Palatine Township Saves Nearly $1 Million Through Recent Budget Decision

The Palatine Township Board approved a resolution at its March 28, 2016 board meeting to pay off its pension deficit through the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF), saving taxpayers $903,683.

The resolution was proposed by Palatine Township Supervisor Sharon Langlotz-Johnson after seeing the debt listed on her own tax bill.

“The Township was paying considerable interest on the outstanding debt, and we were getting minimal interest on our investments. We were able to pay off the pension debt without putting the Township reserves in jeopardy,” Langlotz-Johnson said.

Palatine Township employee pensions are funded through IMRF. The employee portion is 4.5-percent and the balance is paid by the Township. Those invested funds have historically returned at 7.5-percent or more.

The recent state of the economy, though, has had an ongoing negative impact on the returns for those investments. Lower returns over the last few years have caused a subsequent unfunded liability for Palatine Township. The considerable savings were achieved due to the Township avoiding interest that is part of the monthly installment plan to pay into the fund.

Palatine Township is one of the few Illinois government entities who will have a zero pension debt. The goal is to continue to be fiscally responsible to the current, and future residents of Palatine Township, Langlotz-Johnson said.