[Peace] Why attend the Unity March this Saturday?

[Randall Cotton]

Here is a somewhat more detailed version of an article that stands to
appear in the next Public I. It attempts to fully reveal Champaign's
niggardly treatment of their poorest citizens (not Linda Abernathy's
fault) and the desperate need for passing the upcoming Champaign City
Township referendum.

If you needed a good reason to attend the Unity March (it's theme is
raising awareness of this issue and the importance of voting YES to the
referendum) - you should find it in the following text.

The March starts 11AM at Green & Randolph, but you can arrive early to
demonstrate with signs to passing traffic. I know that's the same day of
AWARE's Main Event. But one can make a day of it all. March to Douglass
Park, enjoy food and refreshments, then head on over to Main and
University at 2PM.

R

The Township Referendum is a Poverty Referendum
Restoring Champaign's safety net for the poor

Would you vote "Yes" for a tax increase if you didn't know what it was
for? If you live in Champaign, this is exactly what you'll be faced with
on Election Day unless you read on. If you don't vote "Yes" you may regret
it once you understand what's at stake.

On Election Day, November 4th, Champaign voters will be asked to vote on
the following referendum:

"Shall the limiting rate under the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law
for City of Champaign Township be increased by an additional amount equal
to .02% above the limiting rate for levy year 2007 and be equal to .0550%
of the equalized assessed value of the taxable property therein for levy
year 2008?"

Unless you educate yourself beforehand, just the first four words will be
enough to throw you off. What's a "limiting rate," let alone a "Property
Tax Extension Limitation Law" or "equalized assessed value," you might
wonder. Yet it's crucial to understand and make an informed vote on this
referendum - only a "Yes" vote will help restore Champaign's threadbare
safety net of last resort for the city's poorest, most vulnerable
citizens.

Though it's far from clear in the referendum's wording, the increase
requested is quite small - about $10 for a home with a market value of
$150,000, which is roughly the median home value in Champaign. Since
"equalized assessed value" is essentially 1/3 of market value, the
calculation here is ($150,000/3) * .0002 = $10. By comparison, the same
homeowner would pay about $3300 in property tax overall, about half of
which goes to the school system. The Champaign City Township's current
share of overall property tax is tiny, less than one half of one percent.

If the referendum passes, Champaign City Township Supervisor Linda
Abernathy will target the additional funds to help reverse drastic cuts
that had to be made in a financial aid program for the poorest of the poor
called "Township General Assistance." This state-mandated program is the
primary function of Abernathy's office. It provides financial assistance
to Champaign residents who are living in abject poverty (typically less
than $3000 in annual income) and who also don't qualify for any other
state or federal aid. The maximum monthly aid under this program is
typically around $225, although currently the maximum is $150 in Champaign
due to a lack of funds. In fact, the funding shortfall is so severe that
Abernathy had to completely cut off more than half of the program's
clients last year, a desperate situation that prompted the upcoming
referendum.

CHAMPAIGN'S CRITICALLY FRAYED SAFETY NET

How did things get to such dire straits?  There is a long and complicated
history here, but it's mainly due to a combination of three conditions:

First, Illinois townships are typically funded almost entirely by property
taxes, but Champaign City Township's funding tax levy is artificially
low - radically lower than comparable townships in the state. For
instance, while Champaign's 2007 levy stands at 3.5 cents per $100
equalized assessed value of property, Urbana's levy is about 5 ½ times
higher, at 19.17 cents. The result is that in Champaign, only $105,916.62
could be allocated to Township General Assistance, while Urbana had
$462,382.90. Factoring in the difference in population (2000 census
figures are 67,518 for Champaign, 36,395 for Urbana), the result is that
Urbana is able to fund Township General Assistance at more than 8 times
the level of Champaign (462,382.90/105,916.62 * 67,518/36,395 = 8.099).

Among all comparable townships in a 100 mile radius of Champaign,
Bloomington City Township is probably the most similar, being also the
larger of "twin" college-town cities (Bloomington/Normal) with nearly the
same population as Champaign. Bloomington's levy is 22.1 cents per $100,
well over 6 times higher than Champaign. This allows Bloomington to
allocate $1,000,010 toward Township General Assistance. Even after
factoring in the difference in population (Champaign is slightly more
populous), it turns out that Bloomington is able to fund Township General
Assistance at more than 9 times the level of Champaign
(1,000,010/105,916.62 * 64,808/67,518 = 9.063).

Champaign City Township's profoundly inadequate tax levy is a legacy of
years prior to Linda Abernathy's tenure as Township Supervisor and it's
regrettably been stuck there ever since, due to "property tax caps" (more
on that below).

The second contributing factor is that in recent years there has been a
significant jump in demand for Township General Assistance in Champaign,
largely due to Abernathy's efforts to better serve the poor by being more
receptive and helpful, fulfilling a campaign promise made when she
originally ran for her office in 2005. For a while, Abernathy was able to
meet the previously hidden need in Champaign using reserve township funds,
but as those funds dwindled, the artificially low property tax levy began
to severely strangle Township General Assistance funding.

The third and most consequential factor in the current predicament is the
enactment of PTELL, the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (commonly
known as "property tax caps") at the county level back in November, 1996.
PTELL acts to set hurdles that must be cleared to enact property tax
increases. In the Township's case, PTELL's hurdles are prodigious. Not
only must increases (beyond normal inflation) in the tax levy be approved
by voter referendum, the wording on the ballot may not provide any
indication of the levy's actual purpose. It may only indicate the
magnitude of the increase in a strict, pre-determined boilerplate format
imbued with technical jargon. The upcoming referendum's arcane wording
(cited above) is expressly dictated by PTELL.

A YEARS-LONG BATTLE

Since PTELL requires that voters be asked for a tax increase using
perplexing technical language with no indication of what the funds will
actually be used for, it should come as no surprise that a prior attempt
to pass a similar referendum failed decisively. The last attempt, in
November 2006, asked for an increase of 5 cents per $100 of equalized
assessed value, which would have fully funded the Township General
Assistance program (the upcoming referendum only asks for 2 cents per $100
in the hopes that the lower figure may pass this time around). Since the
failed referendum, there have been efforts to educate the community about
this issue. In addition, through a grassroots effort of Champaign
citizens, an advisory referendum was placed on this past Spring's Primary
ballot to educate and directly gauge the support of Champaign voters
regarding the restoration of Township General Assistance aid to the poor.
The referendum wording was:

 "Shall the voters of the City of Champaign Township ask the Township
Trustees to restore the level of general assistance funding by actively
pursuing any and all means available to them in order to preserve the
health and well-being of individuals, children, families and adults living
in extreme poverty in our Township?"

This passed with 71% in favor, showing that when Champaign voters are told
what they're voting for, they are in support of restoring this aid to the
city's poorest residents.

AN INCREASINGLY URGENT NEED

The need for Township General Assistance will likely become even more
urgent in the coming months. A sharp increase in local unemployment (from
4.3% in April to 6.7% in  August for Champaign County) coupled with
ongoing hikes in the price of essential goods such as food, energy and
utilities as well as rising foreclosures and an overall deteriorating
economy will likely intensify the need for aid to the most needy. The hope
is that the combination of a lower requested $10 median tax increase with
a years-long effort to educate and survey the community will finally
result in a resounding "Yes" vote for at least partially repairing
Champaign's tattered, last-chance safety net for the most impoverished
among us.