Park Board votes to save extra tax money, authorizes $1.04 million general obligation bond

QUINCY — The Quincy Park Board voted Wednesday night to approve its annual district capital project list for 2022, but how it was going to be paid for was the subject of considerable discussion Wednesday night.

The Quincy Park District authorizes each year a non-referendum general obligation bond for capital projects. The proceeds are used to fund significant repairs, renovations and park improvement projects. The project list for 2022 assumes the Park District will have $1,041,000 from bond proceeds for the upcoming year.

However, Park District officials learned last week it had received unexpected revenue. The Park District receives eight payments of personal property replacement taxes collected by the state. These revenues are paid to local governments to replace money lost by local governments when their powers in the 1970s to impose personal property taxes on corporations, partnerships and other business entities were taken away.

The yearly PPRT funds for the Park District have ranged between $450,000 to $500,000 from 2014 to 2020. However, the Park District already had received $609,317 in its first six payments this year, and its October payment was $225,526. The last payment is scheduled to be received in December.

Frankenhoff proposed holding line on property taxes

Park Board commissioners had determined at its summer retreat that it planned to increase this year’s general obligation bond. However, commissioner John Frankenhoff made the suggestion to reduce the annual bond to $900,000 — the amount the Park Board has asked for in recent years — and use extra PPRT money to make up the difference. The board typically approves the bond sale in December.

“For my own finances. if I won the lottery or got money, instead of taking out a $30,000 loan for a car, I would use some of the money I got to lower the amount of loan I was taking out for my car,” commissioner Patty McGlothlin said. “So is there any way we can go back?”

“This is a perfect opportunity, it’s a golden opportunity for us to just hold the line on property taxes that people will pay next summer, and we can still do exactly what we intended to do (with capital projects),” Frankenhoff said.

Don Hilgenbrinck, director of business services, had proposed saving the extra PPRT money and put it into the corporate fund for a “rainy day” capital development fund.

“I believe taxpayers would be more likely be fine with keeping (the tax rate) flat as opposed to a dip now and then a spike later,” commissioner David Gilbert said.

Leenerts: ‘We have no bad decision to make’

“This is a situation of either making a good decision or slightly better than good decision,” Park Board President Roger Leenerts said. “We have no bad decision to make, which is really a great opportunity. Very few taxing districts can say that.”

“We have more money than we expected, our overall finances are extremely healthy, and we have no immediate needs or fires to put out or repairs that need to be made,” Frankenhoff said. “It’s a hell of a good problem to have.”

The commissioners voted 6-1 to stick with the original plan. Frankenhoff was the only no vote.

“Isn’t it nice when you do have a backup plan?” Vice President Barb Holthaus said. “There will come a day during our commissionerships that we’re not in a position to go forward with a project, but we are fortunate we have some reserves. Kudos to the staff for planning ahead and saving.”

Proposed capital projects list