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Shawano, WI – Taxpayers United of America (TUA) urges Shawano School District taxpayers to VOTE NO on the $14 million property tax increase referendum November 3, 2015.
“Government school bureaucrats in Shawano suffer from the same policies that are destroying cities across the country….borrow, spend, rinse, repeat!” stated Jim Tobin, TUA president and Shawano resident.
“The school district can’t bare to give taxpayers a break by paying off existing debt. Instead, they plan to increase your property taxes through new debt of $14 million to grow their empire. Not to mention they are trying to pull a fast one on us by understating the property tax increase on their propaganda and omitting the interest on the debt. Shawano School district’s total debt would climb to $43.3 million if this referendum is passed.”
“The real reason for the special election is that voter turnout is typically much lower than in a regular election. This gives the bureaucrats the edge because they order the union minions to show up and vote for the referendum. After all, this additional $14 million in taxpayer expenditures will give plenty of the construction union members more taxpayer-funded jobs.”
“The Shawano School Board bureaucrats have already increased the 2015/2016 budget by $140,000 and plan on giving an automatic 2% wage increase to all school employees, whether they deserve it or not. I’m guessing that not too many of the taxpayers in Shawano School District have gotten automatic pay increases over the last several years.”
According to the Census Bureau, Shawano County’s per capita income is $23,500…that’s every man, woman, and child.
“Take a look at the salaries and estimated pensions of the Shawano government teachers and administrators. They are listed on the back of our VOTE NO flyer. Do you really think they are underpaid and need another pay increase? The top 8 or so names are all administrators who don’t educate students whatsoever.”
“It’s time for all government employees to understand that when they ask for more money, it is essentially like knocking on their neighbor’s door and demanding a check for $200 or more! Their employer isn’t some nameless, faceless government entity; they are their neighbors, the taxpayers who employ them and fund their salaries, benefits, and empire building.”
“63% of the Shawano School District operating budget goes to salaries, pensions, and other benefits of government school employees. This is down from about 76%, likely due to Gov. Walker’s reforms requiring teachers to pay into their own pensions.”
“Shawano taxpayers need to defeat this money grab and demand our school bureaucrats live within our means, not to continue to spend beyond what we can afford. They need to learn, once and for all, that the taxpayers refuse to let them treat us like their own personal ATM!”
“VOTE NO on the latest money grab on November 3. Polls are open from 7 am to 8 pm,” urged Tobin.
Click here to download a copy of our Flyer and Shawano Government Schools top salaries and estimated pensions.
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CHICAGO—Taxpayers United of America (TUA) today released the results of their updated study of the top government pensioners of Kankakee County, Kankakee County government schools, Kankakee Community College, and Kankakee municipal.
“Well over 1,000 of the Kankakee area government pensioners receive multi-million dollar lifetime pension payouts,” stated Jim Tobin, TUA president. “The pensioners’ average personal investment is only about 5.5% of the lifetime payouts.”
“While taxpayers struggle to make their property tax payments, working well beyond retirement age, these government pensioners enjoy lavish, gold-plated retirements beginning, on average, at the age of 58.”
“This is not a retirement system or a safety net for ‘the poor public servants’ who have given their lives to public service. This is theft. These government pensions are immoral and unethical theft of taxpayers’ hard-earned money to be given to the political elite to do absolutely nothing.”
“Kankakee police and fire pensions are some of the most troubled funds in the country. With 27.7% and 18.8% funding ratios, respectively, and more retirees collecting benefits than employees paying into the fund, they are rapidly spiraling to insolvency.”
“There are now 12,154 Illinois government pensions over $100,000 and 85,893 over $50,000 annually! Those are staggering numbers considering the taxpayers who fund these pensions get an average Social Security pension of about $15,000 a year.”
“I defy teachers, or any government employee, to look into their neighbors’ eyes and say, ‘You deserve another pay cut so I can make more in retirement than you make working.’ They have to be able to say to their neighbors, ‘I don’t care if you can no longer afford your home’s property tax payment; I want more. I want more of your money. I want more of your wealth. I want more of your property.’ That is the reality of demanding more lavish government pensions. If you are a government employee, your neighbor is your employer,” challenged Tobin.
“Retired Pembroke CCSD 259 government employee, Barbara J. Howery enjoys an annual taxpayer funded pension of $151,441. Over a normal lifetime, she will get about $4.4 million in pension payments. Her personal investment in this rich pension is about 5.3%, or $234,403.”
“Larry Huffman retired from Kankakee Community College at only 54 years of age and his current annual pension is $134,960. He will collect about $4.4 million while he only put in $157,199 of his own money, slightly more than one year’s pension payout. That’s a 3.6% investment in his own multi-million dollar retirement payout!”
Click to view pensions for:
- Kankakee Municipal Government Retirees
- Kankakee County Government Retirees
- Kankakee Community College Retirees
- Kankakee County Government School Retirees
- Kankakee Police Retirees
“Although we did not support or endorse SB 1 as any kind of pension reform, as it did more harm than good, the unanimous ruling of the Illinois Supreme Court clearly illustrates the limited options available to solve the pension crisis…and the answers are not tax increases!”
“A constitutional amendment that is fair to taxpayers, as well as government employees, must be approved next year in 2016. In the meantime, if the Illinois General Assembly increased individual government employee contributions to their own gold-plated pensions by 10 percentage points, it would save taxpayers about $150 billion over the next 35 years, or about $4.3 billion a year, and save the State of Illinois from financial ruin. If nothing else, the Illinois General Assembly must pass legislation that permits local governments and taxing districts to file for Chapter 9.”
“Taxpayers must pursue these three paths forward to avoid disastrously higher taxes in the immediate future.”
“Rather than finding ways to perpetuate this horrible system that places copious amounts of cash in the hands of bureaucratic hacks, rank and file union members should be calling for the complete reform and conversion to 401(k)-style funds that places employees in control of their own futures. The union and political bosses must know that they just can’t tax their way out of this problem.”
“The choice is clear: without sweeping, meaningful pension reform, residents of Kankakee and nearly every other city in Illinois will have to choose between fully funding the pension systems to pay for the services provided in the past, or pay for the services we need today.”
“With Kankakee being rated the 6th most dangerous city in the state, we need to continue to provide services to the taxpayers living here now and ensure that their tax dollars aren’t squandered on propping up the unsustainable government pension system,” concluded Tobin.
*Lifetime estimated pension payout includes 3% compounded COLA and assumes life expectancy of 85 (IRS Form 590).
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Berwyn, IL– Jim Tobin, President of Taxpayers United of America, will be hosting a property tax assessment appeal seminar with Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Dan Patlak on Thursday, August 27, 2015, at the Berwyn Public Library for taxpayers seeking to appeal their 2015 property tax assessments. Berwyn Township is open for appeal August 3 –September 1, 2015.
The hour long session will educate taxpayers on how to file a successful property tax appeal and address why property taxes go up when the value of your home goes down.
The seminar includes a presentation explaining the appeal procedure at the Board of Review. Before the end of the evening, taxpayers will have an opportunity to work with staff from the Board of Review to address their specific questions and concerns.
This event is free to the public, and there is no fee to appeal at the Board of Review. Taxpayers are asked to bring a copy of their most recent tax bill.
The seminar will be held:
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Berwyn Public Library
2701 Harlem Avenue
Berwyn, IL 60402
6:30 p.m.
Taxpayers may file an appeal online by visiting the Board of Review website at www.cookcountyboardofreview.com
Also, appeal forms are available at the Board of Review located at 118 N. Clark St., Room 601, Chicago, IL, or at the Bridgeview Satellite Office located at 10200 S. 76thAve., Room 237, Bridgeview, IL 708-974-6074
Taxpayers United of America (TUA) was founded in 1976 by activist and economist Jim Tobin. Since then, TUA has saved taxpayers over $200 billion in taxes and has become one of the largest taxpayer organizations in America.
The Cook County Board of Review is a quasi-judicial elected office responsible for adjudicating assessment appeals for all property in Cook County. Commissioner Dan Patlak represents the 1st District of the Board of Review, which encompasses 90% of Suburban Cook County and part of the 19th and 41st & 45th Wards of Chicago.
