Madison County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler has rescheduled the vote to put a Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL) referendum on the November ballot after only three committee members showed up for a specially called meeting.
Executive committee members Tom McRae (R), David Michael (R) and Mike Walters (R) were the only members to attend the virtual meeting. Prenzler said county board members Jack Minner (D), Chris Hankins (D) and Mike Parkinson (D) were also present for the meeting but are not members of the executive committee.
The executive committee consists of 13 members: McRae, Michael, Walters, Don Moore (R), Phil Chapman (R), Mick Madison (R), Ray Wesley (R), Michael “Doc” Holliday Sr. (D), Gussie Glasper (D), Jamie Goggin (R), Chris Guy (R), Erica Harriss (R) and John “Eric” Foster (R).
In a pair of press releases issued Wednesday, Prenzler responded to the attendance.
“County board members are paid almost $15,000 a year and there is no excuse for not attending, especially now when we are holding virtual meetings,” Prenzler stated.
“I’m disappointed we didn’t have a quorum,” Prenzler stated in another press release. “I understand some board members were on vacation. I’m rescheduling the meetings for next week because this is an important issue for taxpayers in Madison County.”
Prenzler set the next special board meeting for 6 p.m. Monday, Aug.10 with PTELL being the only item on the agenda. Prior to the special meeting, PTELL is on the agenda for the government relations committee meeting at 5 p.m. and the executive committee meeting at 5:30 p.m.
Prenzler explained that the only way for PTELL to get on the ballot is for the county board to put it on the ballot, and it must be done 79 days before the election or earlier. Because of the timeline, a vote on PTELL cannot wait until the regularly scheduled board meeting on Aug. 19.
“Only the county board can put PTELL on the ballot,” Prenzler said. “The question is not so much about PTELL as it is giving taxpayers the opportunity to decide.”
The law was enacted in 1991 and has been adopted by 39 counties, and applies to approximately 80 percent of the state's population. In April 1999, Madison County voters narrowly rejected a referendum to enact PTELL. Then in 2018, Prenzler brought it up again before the board for a vote, but the issue was tabled.
PTELL caps the total amount certain property taxes may increase year to year by the lesser of a consumer price index or 5 percent. Voters must approve increases beyond that.
“It limits the increase in the levy to the inflation rate,” Prenzler explained.
“Another thing it does is it gets rid of the 'back door referendum,'” he added.
Prenzler said a back door referendum is used by school districts. He added that in most cases, a back door referendum is essentially a tax increase without voter approval.
“Basically they can issue a bond that will be repaid in higher property taxes, so it’s a tax increase,” he said.
Prenzler said that in counties where PTELL has been adopted, voters must approve higher taxes in order to pay for these bonds.
However, Prenzler added that back door referenda may appear on the ballot to be voted on if a petition is signed by 10 percent of the county’s registered voters, which he said is difficult to do.
Prenzler said PTELL is “not tax nirvana” and there are some arguments against it.
He explained that some are concerned that if PTELL is adopted, then taxing districts will increase taxes before it goes into effect to offset the tax cap. Another concern is that taxing bodies will raise taxes by the inflation rate whether they need it or not.
Others are concerned that PTELL will hurt the schools, Prenzler said.
“I don’t want to discourage anyone who is against it,” he said. “I just want it to be on the ballot for the people to vote on it.”
Prenzler added that if PTELL is adopted, some districts in Madison County would be exempt. He explained that if a city or school district is split between counties, PTELL would only go into effect if all the applicable counties for that city have adopted it. For example, PTELL would not be enforced for Collinsville or Madison because part of the cities are in St. Clair County. Unless St. Clair County adopts it in the future, PTELL would not apply to those communities.
However, Collinsville is an exception in another way because it is a "home rule" city, as are Alton, Granite City and Edwardsville. Home rule cities, which would not be affected by PTELL, have populations of 25,000 or more. City councils in these cities may make tax increase decisions on their own.
Prenzler said some of the best school districts in Illinois are located in counties where PTELL has been adopted, so schools will not be left to suffer.
He said the benefit of PTELL is that “it brings discipline to the spending.”
In a press release explaining PTELL, Prenzler provided an example of a back door referendum attempt.
“In October of 2013, the Madison County board approved a backdoor referendum to issue $18.8 million in bonds to repair the county jail.
“All Democrat county board members voted for it, one Republican voted for it, one Republican abstained, and seven Republicans … voted NO.
“Because Madison County had 176,000 registered voters, the backdoor referendum required that 10 percent, or 17,600 signatures be gathered, within a 30-day time period, in order for the voters to be able to vote on it.
“Then history was made.
“I led (with others) an effort that collected 23,600 signatures. Personally, I collected 1,300.
“In the Spring of 2014, voters rejected the referendum 2 to 1,” he wrote.
He added that his administration later approved $14 million to repair the jail, which is nearly finished and $1 million under budget.