McHenry County Blog -Algonquin Township’s Tax Protest Suit

Algonquin Township’s Tax Protest Suit

Posted on 11/17/2015 by Cal SkinnerNovember 17, 2015

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Tax protest attorney Tim Dwyer is suing Algonquin Township on behalf of local property taxpayers for having too much money in the bank to justify levying real estate taxes.

 

Algonquin Township officials gathered in the Township Hall for the October, 2012, Board meeting.  Dan Shea and Russ Cardelli (to the left) still serve on the Board.  Lowell Cutsworth and Linda Lance (on the right) have been replaced by Larry Emery and Melissa Sanchez.

Here are the details:

In December 2014, Algonquin Township adopted its Tax Levy Ordinance.

The Township levy was for $1,800,368.00.

The Road District levy was for $4,048,930.00.

Although the Township and the Township Road District are separate entities for purposes of its tax levy, the Township audit incorporates both entities.

After Algonquin Township and the Algonquin Road District issued its levies in December of 2014, the last audit for both entities found that at the end of the 2013-14 fiscal year, the Township had $11,711,449 in cash and investments.

Prior to issuing its levies, the Township and the Township Road District had a three year average annual expenditure of $4,545,760, according to its own internal audits.

As of its last fiscal year or March 31, 2014, the Township and the Road District had assets of $11,711,225, according to its 2013-14 comprehensive audit.

The assets on hand, coupled with the tax revenue from its 2014 levy, puts the Township and the Road District having in excess of 15 million dollars, or three times the available funds for that which is necessary for its annual expenses.

Spending approximately 4.5 million dollars per year, the Township and the Road District had ample funds in order to meet their respective annual expenses without even imposing a levy.

According to its own audit, the Township, collectively, had investments of $4,356,863, which was almost as much as its three year annual expenditures.

This remains a violation of Illinois law, rendering both levies as excessive, invalid and illegal.

According to its own 2014 audit, prior to its levy for the Town Fund of $1,578,536, the Township had $3,166,393 in liquid assets for the Town Fund.

The $3,166,393, coupled with the levy of $1,578,536 exceeds 2.6 times the annual average expenditure of 1.8 million. 155. As such, the Town levy issued by the Township is invalid, excessive and illegal.

The same is true for the General Assistance Fund.

With respect to the Road Distict, the Road and Bridge Fund, coupled with the Equipment and Building Fund, the Road District had reserves in excess of $5,400,000.

The annual expenses for both of these Funds were approximately 2.4 million.

The tax levy revenue, coupled with the existing funds on hand, was nearly three times the amount of the annual expenditure.

 

Algonquin Township

As such, the Road and Bridge Fund, as well as the Equipment and Building Fund, are excessive, invalid and illegal.

In addition to the excess accumulation, the Road District levied funds in excess of that which was appropriated.

It is well settled in Illinois, that a municipal entity can only spend that which has been legitimately appropriated. In other words, the Levy Ordinance cannot exceed those line items delineated within the Budget and Appropriation Ordinance.

For its General Road Fund, the Road District appropriated $2,388,600, but levied for $2,576,076.

As a matter of law, the General Road Fund is void.

For its Social Security Fund, the Road District appropriated $70,000, but levied $71,068.

For its IMRF Fund, the Road District appropriated $100,000, but levied $129,890.

Similar to the General Road Fund, the levy for the aforesaid funds are void and illegal, and should be ordered rebated as a matter of law.

Here’s what the suit requests:

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff Tax Protestors pray that this Court consider the matters raised herein,
find, determine and otherwise adjudicate that the entire levies adopted by Algonquin Township and the
Algonquin Road District are illegal, void and/or excessive as a matter of law, order that the McHenry
County Treasurer issue full rebate payments to the Tax Objectors, award statutory interest pursuant to
35 ILCS 200/23-20, et. seq. and issue whatever further relief this Court deems just and appropriate.

Last year at the initiative of newly-elected Trustee Larry Emery, the Town Fund levy was reduced 1%.

The above is from: http://mchenrycountyblog.com/2015/11/17/algonquin-townships-tax-protest-suit/

As part of the suit says,

While taxing officials are permitted a reasonable latitude in the accumulation of public funds to assure having funds on hand to meet legitimate expenditures as they occur, this discretion must not be abused.

No statutory authority exists for large accumulations to provide for possible emergencies, which may or may not occur, since emergencies engendered by unforeseen circumstances are amply provided for in the statute, and may not be anticipated, as no resource is ample to meet every emergency which could possibly occur…

The Illinois Supreme Court has repeatedly held that a tax levy can be made for the requirements for the ensuing year only, and may not be made to create a fund for possible future needs…

Absent a referendum, the accumulation of public funds beyond the actual requirements for the particular purpose for the ensuing year is illegal and contrary to the policy of the law, as well as being an imposition upon the taxpayer, depriving him or her of funds to which he is entitled.

A New Book Looks at the Koch Brothers' Role in Politics - The New York Times

 

In a 2010 profile of the billionaire industrialist brothers Charles and David Koch, the New Yorker writer Jane Mayer described how, from 2005 to 2008, the brothers had vastly outspent ExxonMobil in financing organizations that fight legislation aimed at curbing climate change. Their company, the conglomerate Koch Industries, was also listed as one of the top 10 air polluters in the country, she wrote.

She wrote about the brothers again in 2013, focusing on David Koch’s efforts to influence coverage at a public television station, one of several to which they had donated money. The article prompted a lengthy, scathing rebuttal on the Koch company website, which accused Ms. Mayer of distorting the facts.

Ms. Mayer is undeterred, apparently. Her coming book, “Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right,” explores how a network of deep-pocketed conservatives — foremost among them the Koch brothers — are seeking to fundamentally reshape American politics.

 

 

“She digs up documents people want to keep secret; she writes clear and powerful narratives about events others try to obfuscate; she gets sources to talk even when they’re afraid to,” said Bill Thomas, the publisher and editor in chief of Doubleday. “I thought I understood the last 30 years of American political history until I read this book.”

The book, which Doubleday will publish in January, could scarcely be timelier. It will land during a heated presidential primary season that has prompted a national debate about issues like income inequality, tax reform and the regulation of businesses.

In January, the Koch brothers’ political and philanthropic network, backed by hundreds of like-minded donors, revealed plans to spend $889 million in the nearly two years leading up to the 2016 election.

Ms. Mayer has been a co-author of books about Ronald Reagan and about the controversial appointment of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. Her 2008 book “The Dark Side,” about the use of torture as an interrogation technique in America’s counterterrorism efforts, was a finalist for the National Book Award.

Ms. Mayer spent five years researching the new book. She interviewed hundreds of sources and unearthed confidential documents related to efforts that illustrate how donors within the network have funneled their fortunes to promote a political agenda of cutting corporate taxes, dismantling environmental regulations and reducing government oversight of corporations.

The Koch brothers declined to be interviewed for “Dark Money,” and a spokesman for the Kochs declined to comment ​on the book’s premise.

A New Book Looks at the Koch Brothers' Role in Politics - The New York Times

Chicago Immigrant, Latino, and Arab and Muslim Communities Respond to Illinois Governor’s Rejection of Syrian Refugees, Call on Mayor Emanuel to Keep Chicago a Welcoming City | eNews Park Forest

 

Chicago, IL –(ENEWSPF)–November 16, 2015.  Chicago immigrant communities are sickened by Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner rejection of Syrian refugees in the state, an act of fearmongering following the recent attacks in Paris and Beirut. In response, the Chicago-based organizations Arab American Action Network (AAAN) and Organized Communities Against Deportations (OCAD) issued the following statements:

Statement from AAAN: “Governor Rauner’s announcement is based on fear and xenophobia. It not only creates a fictitious link between those fleeing war and violence and those responsible for the attacks, it fuels racist stereotypes against Arab-American and American Muslim communities in our state. Policies like these create an environment where violence and criminalization of all immigrants of color is not just tolerated but validated by elected officials. Denying people displaced by wars that the US plays a role in is not just hypocritical, it is cruel. We need intelligent policies that are not based on fear mongering, that take into consideration our responsibility in creating these global migrations, and show that our state has compassion for people in crisis looking for refuge.”

Statement from OCAD: “We cannot let elected officials like Governor Rauner re-frame need for humanitarian support for Syrian refugees fleeing violence into an issue of national security and terrorism. The targeting of Syrian refugees in our state is yet another example of the violent targeting of Arab and Muslim communities that increased after the attacks of September 11. It is another example of the manipulation of a tragic event to stir fear and justify racist policies that criminalize entire communities. We know first-hand how devastating this sort of scapegoating can be, and we make a call to all immigrants to stand with Syrian refugees. We urge Governor Rauner to reconsider the suspension and call on Mayor Emanuel to declare Chicago a welcoming city for all by refusing to apply the Governor’s decree.

As Rauner and several other Republican governors make proclamations, there are outstanding questions regarding the legality of their declarations, as immigration is a federal issue, not under state jurisdiction.

A petition asking Mayor Emanuel stand with Syrian refugees is being distributed at: http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/welcome-refugees-in-chicago?source=c.em.cp&r_by=14230783

Chicago Immigrant, Latino, and Arab and Muslim Communities Respond to Illinois Governor’s Rejection of Syrian Refugees, Call on Mayor Emanuel to Keep Chicago a Welcoming City | eNews Park Forest

Think experience, knowledge don't matter? See Illinois - Quad-Cities Online: Don Wooten

Great comments on the current Illinois financial dilemma.

By Don Wooten qconline.com

If we may rely on recent polls, Republican presidential primary and caucus voters prefer candidates who have never held political office. If that trend continues and develops, it means that our choice about a year from now will be between ignorance and experience in the oval office.

Choosing among Ben Carson (a doctor who doesn’t believe in science), Carla Fiorina (a failed CEO of fact-free beliefs) and the self-obsessed Donald Trump is a prospect which fills my sober Republican friends with terror.

If you are wondering what kind of president one of the three front-runners might make, I suggest you take a close look at Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, a man who clearly has no grasp of how state government functions. One does not doubt his passions, but they do not relate to anything Illinois needs just now.

I realize the media cast our budget deadlock as a fight between the governor and House Speaker Michael Madigan, as if it were a contest of wills between two stubborn men; macho guys who will not yield.

That’s a caricature. Madigan knows what he is doing and what has to be done. Rauner wants to accomplish several far-right ideals and is willing to let the state collapse if he doesn’t get his way. I call it government by tantrum.

How did it happen that we have a man in office with no concept of how government operates? Or, for that matter, how business operates? The two processes are not the same, but they share some basic principles: pay the bills, structure a short-term budget while working on a long-term plan, keep the welfare of your investors (voters) in mind, and don’t treat your customers (or citizens) like dirt.

Rauner’s experience has been in venture capital: putting money into companies for a share of their stock and the ability to dabble in management. Such firms can also gut companies and sell off the remnants. We heard a lot about venture capital when an exemplar of the profession, Mitt Romney, ran against Obama in 2012.

I can’t speak to the day-to-day operations in venture capital, but judging from Rauner’s behavior, such CEOs must operate like kings: giving commands and having underlings carry them out without question. That doesn’t cut it in politics at any level. It’s a collaborative effort, not a win-at-any-cost contest.

I’ll admit that we have had a lot of that destructive behavior in Congress for the past six years, something that has been played out without embarrassment by the so-called Freedom Caucus, about 40 representatives -- and not a few senators -- whose uselessness has become a national, even an international, scandal.

Let’s also consider one of the principal actors dealing with Rauner in this crisis, Speaker  Madigan. He’s not the only participant on the legislative side of the argument, but he’s the one the media fixates on.

Mike has always been the sharpest legislator in Springfield and when Pat Quinn launched the drive to change the state’s unique three-for-one system of representation to single member districts, it gave Mike the opportunity and means to consolidate power. He’s not the whole show, but he is the leading actor.

To Madigan’s credit, he’s holding off the governor’s assault on workers, teachers, students, the elderly, and the poor; but he and Senate President John Cullerton need some help from Republicans to pass a budget and override a gubernatorial veto. Then, we can have an adult consideration of Rauner’s ideas.

In the meantime, the far-right of fantasy of “no government” is slowing becoming a reality. Companies and communities which supply energy and supplies to state installations are threatening to cut services until past due bills are paid.

Those suppliers are under financial stress and cannot operate at a loss.

Revenue is coming into the state; it just can’t be paid out. Former governor Jim Edgar, along with other responsible Republicans, are urging Rauner to act like a governor and tend to the people’s business.

One hopes that our fiscal fiasco can act as a cautionary tale for citizens who are ultimately responsible for the mess we’re in. It is the low turnout in primary and general elections which enables marginal choices to be nominated and, on occasion, to win. That, and little thought before casting those votes.

To repeat Shakespeare: “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in the stars, but in ourselves.”

Don Wooten of Rock Island is a longtime broadcaster and former Illinois state senator; donwooten@qconline.com

Think experience, knowledge don't matter? See Illinois - Quad-Cities Online: Don Wooten

State: Rauner agency sues AG's office | The Rock River Times

By Mark Fitton
Illinois News Network
SPRINGFIELD — One of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s department heads is suing Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and asking the court to remove the attorney general’s office from certain workers compensation cases.
The lawsuit was filed Nov. 13 in Sangamon County by Tom Tyrrell, director of the Illinois Department of Central Management Services, an executive branch agency answerable to the governor.
The attorney general’s office has yet to file its response with the court, but that response is coming, a spokeswoman said.
“We strongly disagree with CMS’ allegations and will be responding in court,” said Annie Thompson, deputy press secretary.
Tyrrell’s lawsuit argues that Illinois statute and case law establish that personal assistants paid through the Illinois Department of Human Services are not employees of the state but are instead employees of the people who hire them to work in their homes.
The suit focuses on two workers compensation claims filed by one such care assistant, Stephanie Yencer-Price.
Tyrrell’s attorneys contend that despite CMS’ requests, the attorney general’s office refuses to raise the defense that personal assistants are not state employees and therefore not entitled to workers compensation benefits from the state.
The lawsuit also says the attorney general’s office has objected to the appointment of special assistant attorneys general chosen by CMS.
Central Management Services says the attorney general’s office had as recently as July 2014 instructed its attorneys to seek dismissal in each personal care assistant case on the grounds personal assistant were not state employees.
And, Tyrrell said, a Sangamon County court in another case held there was no employer-employee relationship between the state and Yencer-Price.
Tyrrell says he was compelled to file the lawsuit because there are more than 30,000 personal assistants working throughout the state and that workers comp claims by those assistants have been filed in the hundreds and resulted in payouts of millions of dollars.
Tyrrell asks the court to:

• Prohibit the attorney general’s office from representing the administration before the Workers Compensation Commission on such cases.
• Appoint special assistant attorneys general for the department in such cases.
• Or allow the commission to appoint special assistant attorneys general in these cases.

The lawsuit marks at least the third time lawyers for the administration and the attorney general have publicly clashed since Rauner took office in January.
Earlier, the governor’s and attorney general’s offices disagreed over the state’s legal authority to pay employees while the state is without a budget. Those employees are being paid, although litigation continues.
The governor’s office and Madigan’s solicitor general also clashed recently on whether gubernatorial staff attorneys could file friend-of-the-court briefs on behalf of the governor in a U.S. Supreme Court case.
That disagreement resulted in dueling letters to the Supreme Court, but no legal action.

Above is from:  State: Rauner agency sues AG's office | The Rock River Times

McHenry County's Algonquin Township subject to tax protest suit

 

Are any of Boone County’s townships/other governmental units this rich with cash? 

Will be interesting to see how this court case is decided.

Note other McHenry County taxing districts are involved in separate suits.  Of the cases, Algonquin Township suit appears to have the greatest disparity between cash investments and annual tax levy.

The articles on the tax protests are from Cal Skinner’s McHenry County Blog.

Algonquin Township’s Tax Protest Suit

Posted on 11/17/2015 by Cal Skinner

November 17, 2015

Tax protest attorney Tim Dwyer is suing Algonquin Township on behalf of local property taxpayers for having too much money in the bank to justify levying real estate taxes. 
.
Here are the details:

In December 2014, Algonquin Township adopted its Tax Levy Ordinance.
The Township levy was for $1,800,368.00.
The Road District levy was for $4,048,930.00.
Although the Township and the Township Road District are separate entities for purposes of its tax levy, the Township audit incorporates both entities.
After Algonquin Township and the Algonquin Road District issued its levies in December of 2014, the last audit for both entities found that at the end of the 2013-14 fiscal year, the Township had $11,711,449 in cash and investments.
Prior to issuing its levies, the Township and the Township Road District had a three year average annual expenditure of $4,545,760, according to its own internal audits.
As of its last fiscal year or March 31, 2014, the Township and the Road District had assets of $11,711,225, according to its 2013-14 comprehensive audit.
The assets on hand, coupled with the tax revenue from its 2014 levy, puts the Township and the Road District having in excess of 15 million dollars, or three times the available funds for that which is necessary for its annual expenses.
Spending approximately 4.5 million dollars per year, the Township and the Road District had ample funds in order to meet their respective annual expenses without even imposing a levy.
According to its own audit, the Township, collectively, had investments of $4,356,863, which was almost as much as its three year annual expenditures.
This remains a violation of Illinois law, rendering both levies as excessive, invalid and illegal.
According to its own 2014 audit, prior to its levy for the Town Fund of $1,578,536, the Township had $3,166,393 in liquid assets for the Town Fund.
The $3,166,393, coupled with the levy of $1,578,536 exceeds 2.6 times the annual average expenditure of 1.8 million. 155. As such, the Town levy issued by the Township is invalid, excessive and illegal.
The same is true for the General Assistance Fund.
With respect to the Road Distict, the Road and Bridge Fund, coupled with the Equipment and Building Fund, the Road District had reserves in excess of $5,400,000.
The annual expenses for both of these Funds were approximately 2.4 million.
The tax levy revenue, coupled with the existing funds on hand, was nearly three times the amount of the annual expenditure. 

Algonquin Township
As such, the Road and Bridge Fund, as well as the Equipment and Building Fund, are excessive, invalid and illegal.
In addition to the excess accumulation, the Road District levied funds in excess of that which was appropriated.
It is well settled in Illinois, that a municipal entity can only spend that which has been legitimately appropriated. In other words, the Levy Ordinance cannot exceed those line items delineated within the Budget and Appropriation Ordinance.
For its General Road Fund, the Road District appropriated $2,388,600, but levied for $2,576,076.
As a matter of law, the General Road Fund is void.
For its Social Security Fund, the Road District appropriated $70,000, but levied $71,068.
For its IMRF Fund, the Road District appropriated $100,000, but levied $129,890.
Similar to the General Road Fund, the levy for the aforesaid funds are void and illegal, and should be ordered rebated as a matter of law.

Here’s what the suit requests:

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff Tax Protestors pray that this Court consider the matters raised herein,
find, determine and otherwise adjudicate that the entire levies adopted by Algonquin Township and the
Algonquin Road District are illegal, void and/or excessive as a matter of law, order that the McHenry
County Treasurer issue full rebate payments to the Tax Objectors, award statutory interest pursuant to
35 ILCS 200/23-20, et. seq. and issue whatever further relief this Court deems just and appropriate.

Last year at the initiative of newly-elected Trustee Larry Emery, the Town Fund levy was reduced 1%.

The above is from: http://mchenrycountyblog.com/2015/11/17/algonquin-townships-tax-protest-suit/

There are additional tax protest suits in McHenry County.  See Cal Skinner’s other McHenry County Blog articles shown below:

http://mchenrycountyblog.com/2015/11/13/tax-protest-suit-against-mchenry-county-harrison-school-cl-grade-high-school-plus-mchenry-township/

http://mchenrycountyblog.com/2015/11/14/tax-protest-suit-against-wonder-lakes-harrison-grade-school/

http://mchenrycountyblog.com/2015/11/15/cl-district-47s-tax-protest-suit/