The residents and business community within the boundaries of School District #428 of DeKalb, Cortland and Malta, need to pay close attention to what the Board and Administration are doing with the up to $110 million they were authorized to borrow for building a new high school in DeKalb, a new grade school in Cortland, and “repurposing” and renovation Chesebro Elementary School, Huntley Middle School and the current high school in DeKalb. The Cortland elementary school is under construction. It will require around $15 million. The new high school is nearing the point of no return. Bids will be let out as soon as the Board gives authority to do so. The almost $90 million proposed price tag has stayed constant throughout the process since the February elections. One long-standing member of the Facilities Planning Committee, (a veteran of all four referendum attempts since 2000), told me of his grave concerns of the current plans for the high school and of his disappointment in the post-elections process. He took great pride in the work of the FPC in the successful referendum because he felt the results were data driven. He no longer feels that way. Neither do I, and I, too, was a proponent for the referendum. On April 17, 2008, the district sold the first $30 million of the referendum-approved bonds. The Board of Education elected to sell the bonds in three phases based on its construction spending requirements in order to reduce the interest cost on the borrowing. The additional bond issues will be sold in 2009 and 2010 as dictated by the construction draw schedule. Voters were told that the repayment schedule of the entire project would amount to $270 per year for the owner of a $200,000 home. The owner of that price of home will see an increase of $280 on next year’s tax bill. That’s close to what was promised but only $30 million in debt bonds have been sold. Another $80 million may likely be needed to finance the balance of the project. What has changed? Hint: The economy. What hasn’t? The plan to spend $110 million. Regrettably, little has changed in response to higher interest rates on bonds, lower enrollment projections reported, and a complete nosedive in new construction. If the public, through its apathy allows it, a new roughly 400,000 sq ft high school will be built with a core capacity for 3,000 students and classroom space for 2,500. The core capacity of the high school, as proposed, includes a field house and a theater/auditorium plus two competitive gymnasiums. Possible additions include an artificial turf football field and all the infrastructure necessary to construct a full blown football stadium, should the district decide to do that at some future date. A former coach at DHS told me that he thought the district would be nuts to spend $110 million and not build a football stadium. He wondered how any idiot could oppose the idea (of including a football stadium). This idiot told him that promises are important and the district and the Renew Our Schools referendum committee unequivocally made that promise. I do agree that they would be nuts to spend $110 million. My opinion is data driven. The debt repayment plan, pre-referendum (when promises are made), assumed $20 million in new construction EAV ($60 million total) to be added each year for the duration of the debt bonds (around 20 years). Data clearly shows that new construction has tanked and few if any forecasters indicate a rebound to the level of DeKalb County’s highest decade of new construction in history anytime soon. The district’s new housing start projections are based on that historic period of growth and not the current economy. Assumptions on new construction played a key role in determining the advertised repayment amount. Enrollment numbers pre-referendum are significantly higher than those post-referendum. The slowdown in new construction played a part in that. So has a loss of jobs. The new data was completely dismissed because, well, the pre-referendum FPC and Renew Our Schools committee worked hard on their plans, darn it. Interest rates were lower pre-referendum than they are now. Selling municipal bonds were much easier then as opposed to now as well. Data now indicates that the promised repayment amount, for the owner of a $200,000 home, will be significantly higher as time goes on and the district sells all $110 million in debt bonds. The promised repayment amount of around $280 per year on a $200,000 home was important, make that critical, to a lot of yes votes for the referendum. The concern was based on affordability. Data now indicates those concerns were very valid. There has been a record number of foreclosures in District 428 since the referendum passed. Many of those homeowners, who live in DeKalb’s TIF districts, will pay whatever the increase levy calls for to repay the debt bonds issued by the school district. None of the money they pay, however, will go towards the debt reduction, or so it appears from information I’ve obtained. It also appears that the school district could use $2 million from those TIF districts to pay for some of the improvements at Chesebro or Huntley. Data shows that $2 million used now saves a lot of interest later. Letter from me to: Mayor Kris Povlsen, City Manager Mark Biernacki, Dist. 428 President Mike Verbic, Superintendent Dr. James Briscoe
Mark Biernacki was the only one who responded to my email. I know schedules are busy so I appreciate his taking the time to answer my letter. I do think it would have been courteous to at least have received an acknowledgment of receiving my email from the other individuals mentioned.
There are three meetings next week at the school district administrative offices. A special meeting of the Board of Education (Agenda) on Monday, Jan 12; an FPC meeting on Tuesday Jan 13 (Agenda) and a Thursday Jan. 15 meeting of the Citizens Finance Advisory Committee (Agenda). Those with concerns should communicate, immediately, with the Board of Education members listed below. Otherwise, the future of DeKalb may take an unintended course and the owners of those $200,000 homes may have to sell them for a lot less in order to move to a community they can afford.
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Mac
Very interesting overall.
You might want to correct the typo in which you have 280 a month for a 200,000 home. Now that would be really scary.
Herb
Correction made… thanks Herb.
Mac, I would not correct that typo just yet. The District has at least one more referendum effort up its sleeve…along with several more attempted bond issues. You may well be right after all, eventually.
[...] have almost reached the point of no return: A former coach at DHS told me that he thought the district would be nuts to spend $110 million and [...]
Mac
Good to bring this out. One of my sources has stated that this TIF money in 2011 will be needed to fund the 5 year employee contract that was just passed.
When you negotiate a contract out five years you must have some sort of funding to pay for it and this is what will be used to pay the contract the SB is bound to honor.
How can anyone turn them down? They will state we have a contract and you have a means to pay for increases using these TIF funds.
Pevo
P.S. It is my underatnding this 2011 date is the date that the TIF funds can be used to pay slaraies and not just improvements as originally designed. Remember the 5 year union contract.
Pevo
[...] Please click on these words
As you can see, I’ve been busy helping to spread the word this morning. I have been very concerned about the course of events ever since the referendum passed and I began attending Facilities Planning Committee (FPC) meetings, which have constituted a sort of culture shock. Here is a letter to the editor written last August: http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/2008/08/18/opinions/letters/doc48aa2b61773d3778169976.txt
When FPC addressed my letter at their August meeting, it became apparent that, as long as they can state they are acting within the law, they do not care what the tax bill is, as long as they get what they want.
Here is my idea: a series of emergency “town hall” meetings between the FPC tax watchdogs and the public. What do you think?
Ed,
Make sure I understand. if memory serves me correct one of the TIFs expires in 2011 and at that point is no longer a tif so the city, school district… get their regular share of taxes as general revenue and as such can use it for salaries or fire trucks or whatever GF pays for.
.
Herb
This community was lied to. Everybody should burn the school boards faces into your memory and remember forever how they bankrupted this community. The TIF extension was signed after the school district won the referendum for $110 million. If all went has told, all real estate tax paying properties in the DeKalb, Cortland and Malta communities would pay their share to eliminate the municipal bond that is being taken out to pay for the new schools.
Now according to the extension that the school district signed with the City of DeKalb, no monies in ANY TIF district will be used for the purpose of the debt pay down. In stead any monies that the school district receives once the new 24 year extended TIF district begins will go to the school district to DO WHATEVER THEY WANT TO WITH IT!!!!!
I now know the sting and how it feels to support the school district in a referendum that was promoted to address overcrowding but was just a ploy to create a new revenue stream for the overspending of school district #428. We’ve been taken advantage of and I for one will for ever use this election for my basis to never vote for any additional pay increases to any government entity.
I came on board to the school’s Facility Planning Committee post referendum in hopes to NOT spend the entire referendum request. I was told prior to the referendum that the request was for UP TO $110 million and didn’t need to all be spent. This surely changed quickly. I can only wonder how the good, hardworking citizens on the FPC pre referendum feel about the school board/city TIF arrangement. I have completely lost any respect I had for the FPC member who also was a council member who knew about this Agreement but never let on to the FPC group. This same council member also believes fully that the high school should be overbuilt even though we know that it will be many years before this school is truly utilized to its capacity.
Indoor tracks, oversized entries (3 now according to the new design), 14 plus class rooms being partnered with NIU (how much is NIU contributing). Does this have anything to do with the former school board president and the current school board president being employed by NIU? Is this DeKalb’s own pay to play?? Who would think that this could happen in a small university town.
I am frankly pissed off more about this than anything that I’ve been upset about before. The good, honest, hardworking people of this town were lied to and fully taken advantage of. Former Superintendent Beilfuss was a big part of this “theft” from the taxpayers and the new Superintendent, Dr. James Briscoe has not been forthcoming with any honesty.
I’ve always had a question as to how the district would maintain these new schools and how they would pass a second referendum and now I know. They are just going to steal the money from the first referendum and end up increasing each and everyone’s taxes. Imagine how much, TIF districts come close to being around 60% of this community. Criminal to say the least and shame on the city council for allowing this to happen.
I HAVE NOW DECIDED ON THE HOME RULE ISSUE, I AM VOTING LESS TO ELIMINATE THE HOME RULE. THIS WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED SO EASILY IF HOME RULE WASN’T AVAILABLE TO OUR COUNCIL. Former Mayor Van Buer, Simpson, Povlsen, Woggen, Gorski, Naylor, Baker, and Keller, what have you done to this community?
School board members, President Michael Verbic, Small, Lord, Mitchell, Davis, Robinson, and Wallace. Remember these names, all of the names when you start to see you new tax bills. $280.00 per $200,000.00 home we can only now wish for. $280.00 for only the $30 million borrowed to date. What will it cost for the additional $80 million? Interest rates climbing, municipal bonds harder to find and chance now for all of the overruns. Anticipate seeing a $200,000.00 having to pay an additional about $1,040.00 in addition to what we already pay.
And with less students going to DeKalb District #428 schools, how will we make up the loss of money from the state?
TYPO:
I AM VOTING TO YES (YES) YES TO ELIMINATE HOME RULE.
Ivan
I know when you are shouting that you feel intensely on the matter. But what you have pointed out, assuming everything is correct, are wrong behaviors on the part of the FPC and school board. Then you point out agreements made on TIF with which you disagree. All this is fine but then you act with a ‘pay back’ mentality rather than continuing to work towards a solution.
Home rule has nothing whatsoever to do with the school district. Further, a home rule or a non home rule city with TIFs can negotiate exactly the same agreements; as TIF has nothing to do with home rule.n And, I know you know that.
Oppose home rule if you wish but to do so as a ‘pay back’ with decisions that have nothing whatsoever to do with home rule seems to me kind of petty.
I hope I am wrong but what i am hearing from you ‘is if I (Ivan) am not listened to” I will hit back any way I can even if what I do is not related to the problem.
Run for school board: there are positions up for grab. Oppose Tom if he is running for alderman but at least link your actions to the problem.
If i remember you had some ideas on funding the police station that would be legal only for a home rule city.
Herb
Oh Ivan,
Mac’s post on how the increase in the taxes for the referendum entered into TIF calculations bothered me. I didn’t go out and yell at Irene, nor throw snowballs at the passing snow plows. Instead I immediately wrote an note to elected city officials describing the implications of what Mac had posted and suggesting ideas on how to mitigate the situation. See I (like you) pay close attention to local politics and I do know that tax increases in tif districts increase TIF revenue but usually but only nominal sums. Mac made clear to me that this wasn’t the case with the large referendum increase and to my shame I had not thought of that. I’m betting neither did some council members, hence my note to them as a step in resolving the problem.
Ending home rule won’t fix what you see as wrong in TIF (nor prevent my numerous dental problems, nor fix pot holes)=. Oppose home rule if you wish if you believe in a more limited scope government that will have troubles in working in business attraction. Those are trade offs and are germane to the home rule issue. FPC or even TIF are not
Herb
Herb
It must be great Herb that the only thing that really upsets you about our local government is people like me critizing it. Home Rule gave the city the ability to start the Renew:DeKalb project without a referendum. It gave the city the ability to expand the Central TIF district. Isn’t is amazing on how this district got bigger just in time to sign the extension with the school district. A school district that just a few weeks earlier won a referendum put to the voters for $110 million to be spent for 2 new schools and the refurbishing of several others. Isn’t it amazing that the city ended up with additional tax dollars for TIF just because the good hearted, education minded voters of this community trusted the school board and those promoting the school referendum?
It doesn’t make you mad that a city alderman who also sits on the FPC knewe about this arrangement and still looks to maximize the school construction for numbers that this school may never see? It doesn’t make you mad that Andrea Gorla sat there and did not tell us about this Agreement or the fact that they have another $2 million dollars at their disposal in the current TIF fund? It doesn’t make you mad that Andrea Gorla said the $280.00 for a $200,000.00 home was only a 1 year calculation but nothing was figured out for the remaining years? Andrea along with several other key administrators were in attendance at the Egyptian Theatre and did not make a correction when the FPC representatives kept saying only $280.00 PER YEAR on a $200,000.00 home. Dr. Beilfuss was right up on stage and fully agreed. I for one being in the seats am furious now. I as a FPC member am furious that this arrangement was never mentioned even as we spent over an hour calculating the cost for paying this bond down. Administration seems perfectly content in allowing the pay down to extend out and cost us more interest. I am not.
Are you not mad that this misinformation was dealt to the voters pre referendum? If you are not, I must wonder a little bit about why not. How am I going to “pay back” the powers to be? I will put the same effort in letting people know about this, maybe a little bit more than I used to support the referendum. I trusted this school board was finally getting it right and gave a darn about this community. They have bankrupted this community. They have made it impossible to even think about a police station now. People are out of jobs in a major downturn economy, investment portfolios are almost half of what they used to be and DeKalb governments are blowing money and taxing to the hilt Herb.
Who is going to listen to me Herb? The current school board? The current city council? Right! They’ve got what they want now.
You really stick up for Home Rule a lot Herb. I can honestly see where if used properly will surely help a community but that takes aldermen who respect their constituents not think that they know nothing and we must do this for them because we know better. This is the exact sentiment that is being displayed by our council right now. Rockford continues day by day without Home Rule after having for how many years?
If I can get at least one person to research this and see how this government is or isn’t working for them, then I’ll consider myself successful. It’s really is too bad Herb that you don’t run for school board or city council. Someone needs to be shouting out loud. The new high school is not too far from going out to bid. Why is NIU all of a sudden a partner in the high school. I’m not for this, who is? Why are we building a school for 2,500 students when it will be at least 15 to 17 years before we even see any numbers close to this? Why do we need a core for 3,000 students? Why will we be maintaining all of this space when not needed? Why an indoor track? How many high schools can boast of this? We are not a rich community but we sure are trying to play one.
Put the pencil to the paper Herb and see how much money the school district will not be collecting annually but instead the City of DeKalb will for its TIF district. I think most of those who voted YES for the referendum will be a bit mad themselves. Essentially, their vote for the schools is fixing the downtown and helping pay the skating rink.
“In the absence of justice, what is sovereignty but organized robbery?”
– Saint Augustine
Herb, thanks for making me speed up on my homework. TIF and Home Rule are directly related when it comes to debt bonds sold for redevelopment projects within a TIF district. According to
IL Public Act 095-0709, a non-home rule community must publish a public notice informing voters of how many signatures they’re required to get to force a TIF debt bond issuance to go to referendum. Home rule communities of course do not have to do that. I do believe that the “unencumbering” is a home rule privilege but I have more reading to do.Public Act 095-0709 was signed into law by Governor Blagojevich on Jan. 29, 2008. It was introduced as HB 1514 by Rep. Flider from Mt. Zion and it was sponsored by our own Bob Pritchard and later amended and sponsored by our own Brad Burzynski. It was amended to replace Mt. Zion with DeKalb.
The Mt. Zion TIF extension became SB247 which was vetoed by Gov. Blagojevich. His veto was overridden by the General Assembly. The DeKalb bill sat for several months at the Governors desk before he finally signed it.
At the time I thought the governor’s delay was some sort of punishment for the party affiliation of Pritchard and Burzynski. I’m hoping that was the case, now.
Mac thanks for the update. I tried to click it while writing my message and got a 404 error and lost my message. Anyway, core argument still holds: change personnel if you disagree with policy but don’t throw out the baby with the bath water by eliminating home rule. if you get the signatures, a commmittee of local development professionals and academics (and eventually others) (strange coalition, I do admit) will post on the advantages of home rule and the problems of losing it. The bottom line though for me is Do we want to become a Rockford?
Won’t be blogging for a while. Not chickening out, but personal matter will preclude doing so for a bit.
Ivan, I certainly feel your frustration: faced it with a certain former mayor for over a decade and so worked to replace that mayor, not to cut off the legs of the city.
Best
Herb
Mac,
i could be wrong because the bill is 73 pages long, but I think it is referring to the requirements for sales tax tifs, that disappear in a few years, not to tifs overall. Direct entry of the url to the browser worked fine.
Herb
Pritchard and Burzynski sure did us proud! So the TIF program itself don’t need to raise property values to generate funds. All they need is to pass a school referendum and they can borrow money to brick pave parking lots and put up skating rinks. What a deal!
Sure Herb, work to replace those in current government positions. Unfortunately, the NO votes won in not having a ConCon this year. Would have been nice to put in a recall provision. Unfortunately, elected officials serve “x” amount of years dependent on position elected to. This community doesn’t have time right now to have a major voting change on the council.
I wish I knew what Mayor Van Buer was thinking and how he thought that signing this Ageement with the school district would really help this community. How do you take away money that voters thought was going to be used to pay down the new schools they voted for and put it into a major downtown revitalization plan? Sure, the City of DeKalb comes out smelling like fresh picked roses in this money deal and the school district ends up with a windfall because now several other checking accounts will have a new revenue stream.
Earlier you seemed to say that you have more optimism than I obliously do. How fast do you think that housing will make a comeback in this town? We’ve already had one of our best decades ever and we didn’t save any money from that, what makes you think another one is around the corner? Do you think that a new high school will attract new families to this community? It probably would but the taxes on a new home including impact will restrict those families to a minimum.
How can anyone look at this TIF Agreement between the District 428 and the City of DeKalb and be OK with it? This Agreement is just absolutely a pure criminal act against the good people of this community who supported the school referendum. For the kids, yeah right!
Well, we’ve had the same bath water for more than 20 years… to quote another campaign slogan… it’s time for a change.
We need 10% of the number of registered voters in the last mayoral election or 602 signatures. That’s twice as many as is needed for Mayor. It’s a challenge, especially with the weather, but we’ll get ‘r done. I do agree, strange bedfellows.
The ILCS is loaded with Public Acts concerning TIF. I chose to link the above because it was used to extend the Central TIF District in DeKalb. The language regarding Home Rule pertaining to debt bond issuance is repeated in several statutes.
Illinois’ version of “Home Rule” is patently awful, and the people who love it most are those who support powerful, opaque, insulated, and self-serving local government.
If you want real “home rule,” you either empower citizens through citizens’ initiative, or limit “local government” through a “Home Rule Charter” or “Constitution.”
Illinois home rule is government run amok, and the tricks and games that are highlighted in this article are the result.
602 signatures? Go for it. It is time to put stronger restraints on state and local government again. Citizen empowerment is the ‘baby’, opaque and insulated and insider-driven local government is the “bathwater.”
Toss the bathwater, keep the baby.
Well, hello Bruno!
Thanks for your comments. You, sir, are one of the difference makers this state sorely needs.
NOTE TO READERS: Bruno Behrend took a lead role in trying to get the Illinois Constitution Convention on the ballot. He filed suit on the improper ballot wording and procedure and his suit won on merit, meaning the courts agreed with his position. Unfortunately, the judge decided there was no recourse and the flawed and highly improper ballot wording was allowed to continue.
If you drop by again Bruno, let us know how your appeals are doing? Thanks again for your comments and keep up the good work on cleaning up Illinois politics.
Repeat intentional for the purpose of effect. Because… this is the solution to fixing Home Rule.
This sounds like a bunch of sour grapes under the auspices of concern. My wife is on the finance committee and what you bunch of whiners are saying is crap. Krpan, you lied to the city when you promised to build the bike trail and sidewalk to Brooks Elementary. Your lack of follow through is costing the district $100K every year – some concern for our tax dollars.
Dr. Michael Haji-Sheikh
Dr. Michael Haji-Sheikh needs to get a fact correct. I never promised a bike path to Gwendolyn Brooks sir and I’m not sure about the sidewalk to Brooks but there seems to be sidewalks all around the Brooks school.
I will again let you know sir and others reading this post that I DO NOT have anything to do with the BRIDGES OF RIVERMIST. I am THE GARDENS OF RIVERMIST. I purchased 34.56 acres away from BRIDGES OF RIVERMIST for the purpose of building townhomes. It is you sir that needs to get your facts straight. I’m also not quite sure on how I have caused the district $100,000.00 every year?
Also, unlike you, I did sit at one of the last finance committee hearings and this is what was discussed and agreed on.
FACT: The amount to be paid on a $200,000.00 home as sold to the community prior to the referendum ($270.00)is changing.
FACT: The amount of EAV being counted on to pay bond debt has been readjusted from $20 million to $10 million for the next 5 years to keep the taxpayer payment down.
FACT: It is already figured that this referendum is going to cost taxpayers $16 million more in interest.
FACT: The number of years to pay the referendums bond debt has been extended to keep the payments as low as possible.
FACT: The number of homes originally expected to help pay the school referendum bond are not there. Anticipated for 2008 was 100 but only 17 actual permits were taken out. Expected for 2009 is 125. I personally doubt that this number will be attained.
FACT: No dollars from the TIF Districts is right now planned for use in paying the school referendum has it is unencumbered at this point and could be used elsewhere.
FACT: Currently the City of DeKalb has $2 million earmarked for the school district to be used in a school within that TIF District. It needs to be used by the conclusion of 2010 or lost. Plans are to use the $2 million to reduce the referendum from $110 million to $108 million thus helping reduce payments.
FACT: With less money in the revenue streams projected to help pay the school referendum bond, it is going to be very difficult to maintain the payments that was promised to the community based on a $200,000.00 home.
It is you sir that should get your facts straight before you accuse someone of lying and cheating out the district. In fact Dr. Haji-Shiekh, you and I are far from being done with this matter and your public statement concerning my reputation.
Those are some very serious, and false, allegations made by Dr. Michael Haji-Sheikh. I am sending those comments to Dr. Jim Briscoe and Mark Biernacki and hopefully they will provide clarification since the allegations involve both District 428 and the City of DeKalb.