From: Bob McQuillan
To: genadmin@geneva304.org; board@geneva304.org
Sent: Fri, August 22, 2008 5:26:45 PM
Subject: New Community Group

Dear Board Members and Administrators:

I wanted to take this opportunity to inform you of a new community group being formed by Fox Valley residents. The mission of the group is to work with local taxing bodies to learn and understand how they operate especially in terms of budget development and revenue generation. The group is currently comprised of over a dozen local residents with various professional backgrounds. The group, For Accountable Controlled Tax Spending (FACTS), will be the subject of an upcoming Geneva Sun article. We expect the group to grow in members, as the general public is made aware of our existence.

Several outside factors have led to the creation of FACTS including: the slow down in the real estate market, the continued increase in property assessments and the continued increase in property taxes. The most recent assessment in Geneva Township reflects the average value for the years 2004, 2005 & 2006. If the current downturn in the housing market continues, the assessment received in December 2009 will reflect the loss in property value in the years 2006, 2007 & 2008. Clearly each taxing body’s revenue is directly related to home assessments. A decrease in assessment, which appears very likely, will mean a decrease in revenue for each taxing body.

It is the group’s goal to be proactive to this potential “perfect storm” and avoid the possibility of homeowners paying more taxes on property that has less value than today. The next 18 months provides us an opportunity to discuss and develop a plan that will not negatively affect the entire community. Our first step has been to obtain the current budgets for the County, City, School District, Park District and Library. We are in the process of reviewing the budgets focusing on the various expenses and revenue streams. Our next step will be to open a dialogue with each taxing body and inform the public of what we have learned and what can be done to avoid the “perfect storm” causing financial hardship throughout the entire community.

The FACTS group invites members of the board and administrators of the district to become members or join our e-mail list for updates of our progress. If interested, please email the group info@genevataxfacts.org.