Andy KravetzJournal Star
PEORIA — As the supervisor of Peoria Township, LaTrina Leary's main job is to make sure those who are most at risk are being helped as much as possible.
So far, she's been able to do that, but after being in office for about two years, she's sounding the alarm that things might not be solvent in the future.
"Right now, the (tax) levy is the equivalent, about the same levy that the township had in 1989 or 1990," she said. "But my concern is that today's prices aren't the same as they were 30 years ago.
"Right now, we are OK, but in the foreseeable future, we will have to have conversations on, 'Are we wherewe are supposed to be?'" Leary said.
Peoria Township encompasses about 75% of the city of Peoria, including much of South Peoria and all of the East Bluff, which have among the highest levels of poverty in the city. Leary's office helps those who are struggling to get by with their energy bills and aids other organizations such as the Tri-County Urban League, the Center for Prevention of Abuse and Heartland Clinic.
But there are some who think the township is an anachronism, a relic from a bygone era that can be merged with either City Hall or Peoria County government.
"There are some people who are really rocking to get rid of the township. I do think that we'd be better off if we rolled the supervisor's job into City Hall," Councilman John Kelly said.
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Eliminating the township is a thought long pondered here and statewide, given the more than 7,000 governmental units that exist in Illinois. Of that number, at least 1,400 of them are townships, according to the Township Officials of Illinois website.
Property assessment and general assistance to the needy are the two major Peoria Township responsibilities. The supervisor’s annual salary is $96,628. And unlike the other 18 townships in the county, Peoria Township does not oversee local roads. The township includes no territory outside the city, which handles highways.
According Peoria County tax records, the tax levy — the amount of money that property owners pay each year as part of their overall property tax bill — was last reduced in 2019 from 11.9 cents per every $100 to 8.7 cents for every $100 of assessed value.
It has stayed the same since then. Prior to 2019, it was reduced from 14.9 cents for every $100 to 11.9 cents in 2017.
That, according to township records, has led to a reduction in revenues by about $1 million.
Leary worries that while things are good now, that could change if property values drop. Higher than normal home prices in 2020 and 2021 meant the township was maintaining and even getting more in revenue from its levy. But if values drop, that could change.
"That's something that I have been working withand working with the board of trustees — which is the City Council," she said. "It's not an issue yet, but it will probablybe a tough conversation that we'll have to have in less than five years for sure.
"Right now, it's kind of hard to say, and we will know where we are in the fall when we talk about the tax levy and the budgets," Leary said.
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Councilman Zachary Oyler said the council opted not to raise the levy in 2021 because of the township's reserves, which was about a year's worth of money.
"No government entity should have that much in reserves," he said. "That is abusing taxpayers when you want to raise the level. When this conversation occurred (in 2021), we had 10% and they had over 100%, and she wanted a tax increase."
In the past, efforts have been studied to eliminate the township, but both Oyler and Beth Jensen, who will step down from the council next month, said they never came to anything.
Chuck Grayeb, who serves as the council's liaison to the township, said there are no inefficiencies.
"We asked several years ago to see what it would cost if the supervisor was abolished," he said, noting the city would have to staff and run the office. "The (city) manager could not find any savings. There are people who think you really don't need to pay that amount of money for the overseer of the poor, that it could be more effectively done by another branch, but there are no apparent savings."
