There has been so much talk about pension reform in Springfield that most people don’t seem to realize that local taxing bodies might have unfunded pension liabilities as well. When you look at your tax bill, each of those taxing bodies has the potential to have unfunded liabilities. These might be healthcare liabilities or they might be pension liabilities – or both. In any case, it’s important for voters to understand how local taxing bodies are managing their money.
Who is doing a good job and who needs to be held accountable? In the next few blog posts, I’ll look at different taxing bodies using our family’s property tax bill. There are a lot of taxing districts from the South Cook Mosquito Abatement to the Cook County Health Facilities. Some of these cover a large area, and any liabilities are spread widely. I’ll focus on the four that have the largest impact on Palos Hills residents. Some are well-funded while others are so underfunded they threaten to take the taxing body into bankruptcy. The information I’ll use comes from two different sources: the Cook County Treasurer’s Office and The Heritage Foundation.
Recent changes to the way your property tax bill is displayed online make it easy for anyone to see which taxing bodies are being responsible. No matter where you live in Cook County, you can go to the Cook County Treasurer’s Office to see how your local taxing bodies stack up by reading each districts’ 2012 financial statement. Be sure to have your property tax bill with you when you access the site as you need the Property Index Number at the top of the statement.
