St. Charles Mayor Sending Letters Asking Residents to Help Retain State Funding

St. Charles residents will soon receive letters from St. Charles Mayor Donald P. DeWitte urging them to contact Governor Pat Quinn and their state representatives to request that the officials address the state’s budget without cutting the share of income taxes owed to local municipalities.

 “There’s no question economic conditions have put a financial strain on budgets,” DeWitte said in a statement. “But while local cities and towns have been forced to make difficult budgetary choices and still provide vital services to their residents, the state is looking to these same municipalities to help bail it out of its own financial woes.”

Read more about what the City of St. Charles is up to here.

Municipalities traditionally received 10 percent of all income tax revenues generated by the state. In January, that percentage dropped to 6 percent and now plans being discussed in Springfield include a reduction or perhaps even an elimination of that amount.

According to the City, one proposal would reduce local government revenue by $300 million statewide, which would result in the City of St. Charles losing $800,000. Another proposal would reduce local revenues by $96 million statewide, which would result in the City losing $260,000. St. Charles officials state that the city would be hard-pressed to absorb this cut in revenue without a reduction in services or local tax increases. The local share of the income tax was always expected to go back to our communities.

“St. Charles and other local municipalities did not create, nor contribute to the state’s fiscal situation,” DeWitte said. “Yet Governor Quinn and the General Assembly would prefer to solve the state’s budget problems by simply transferring the state’s fiscal crisis to local municipalities.”

The Illinois General Assembly will be in session until May 31. For representative contact information and a sample letter, visit the city’s website at www.stcharlesil.gov.