Winfield Township $50 million pension crisis on April 1 ballot

A local referendum would tell state lawmakers how Winfield Township voters would like to fix a nearly $50 million in pension debt for which they are responsible. Pension reform is the surest way to provide property tax relief.

Winfield Township voters will have a chance at the April 1 election to declare how they want to handle the public pensions driving up their property taxes – an $49.5 million debt for which they are responsible.

Government pension obligations cost taxpayers in Winfield Township more than $7 million annually.

Despite spending more than $7 million annually, taxpayers within Winfield Township eventually must pay more than $49.5 million to their municipal pension funds. Collectively, the municipal pension funds have a funded ratio of 73%.  Experts warn that pension funds with funded ratios of 60% are considered deeply troubled and municipalities within Winfield Township have pension funds dangerously close to this funding level. The Winfield Police Pension Fund has a funded ratio of 54%.

This is part of the reason why property tax rates in Winfield Township are higher than the statewide average and among the highest in the nation. Property tax rates across Winfield Township exceed 2.3% – above the statewide average of 2.1% and far higher than the national average of 1%.

The typical homeowner in Winfield Township pays nearly $6,600 in annual property taxes.

Millions of residents’ property tax dollars are diverted away from services towards municipal pension debt within the township, leaving property taxes among the highest in the nation and driving tax bills higher every year.

Fortunately, voters in Winfield Township will have the opportunity to begin to reverse this trend. A referendum will appear on the April 1 ballot that asks if voters would approve constitutional pension reform if savings could be directed towards property tax relief. The referendum reads as follows:

“Do you support constitutional pension reform to protect workers’ existing retirements and generate savings which could provide property tax relief or be reinvested in the community?”

While non-binding, the referendum is the first step in voters making their voices heard and telling public leaders pension reform to provide for property tax relief is an acceptable tradeoff for taxpayers. A pension reform plan such as one originally developed by the Illinois Policy Institute – based loosely on bipartisan 2013 reforms that passed the Statehouse and were approved by the governor – would help to eliminate state and local unfunded pension liabilities and achieve retirement security for government pensioners without taking away current benefits. A constitutional amendment is needed because the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that any pension changes were unconstitutional.

With polls showing nearly 3 in 5 Illinoisans believe the value of public services they receive are not worth the property taxes they pay, this referendum will empower local voters to communicate their priorities directly to state leaders and start building momentum for substantive property tax reform across Illinois.