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T18-97 (2) . . Ordinance No. T18-97 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. T17-96 PROVIDING FOR A REFUND TO SENIOR CITIZENS OF MOBILE HOME LOCAL SERVICE TAXES WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Elgin has previously adopted Ordinance No. T17-96 providing for a refund to senior citizens of Mobile Home Local Service Taxes for the 1997 tax year; and WHEREAS, Section 2 of Ordinance T17-96 provides that to qualify for such senior citizen tax refund the owner( s) of the subject mobile home must have qualified and obtained for the 1997 tax year the Senior Citizens Reduction of the Mobile Home Local Services Tax; and WHEREAS, it has been discovered by city staff in the implementation of such ordinance that senior citizens owning mobile homes in Cook County do not pay the Mobile Home Local Service Tax as Cook County has not been collecting such tax and it is therefore necessary to amend Section 2 of Ordinance T17-96 to allow senior citizens with mobile homes in Cook County to participate in the refund program. NOW THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ELGIN, ILLINOIS : Section 1 . That Section 2 of Ordinance No. T17-96 entitled "An Ordinance Providing for a Refund to Senior Citizens of Mobile Home Local Services Taxes" be and is hereby amended to read as follows : "That to qualify for such senior citizen tax refund for mobile homes located in Kane County the owner( s ) of the subject mobile home must have qualified and obtained for the 1997 tax year the Senior Citizens Reduction of the Mobile Home Local Services Tax in accordance with 35 ILCS 515/7 , as amended. To qualify for such senior citizen tax refund for mobile homes located in Cook County the owner( s ) of the subject mobile home must have been qualified in the 1997 tax year for the Senior Citizen Reduction of the Mobile Home Local Services Tax in accordance with 35 ILCS 515/7 , as amended. " Section 2 . That all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with the provisions of this ordinance be and are hereby repealed. Section 3 . That this ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and publication in the manner provided by law. s/ Kevin Kelly Kevin Kelly, Mayor Presented: October 22 , 1997 Passed: October 22 , 1997 Omnibus Vote: Yeas 7 Nays 0 Recorded: October 23, 1997 Published: October 24 , 1997 Attest: s/ Dolonna Mecum Dolonna Mecum, City Clerk Committee of the Whole Meeting October 8, 1997 Page 2 The vote on the amended motion was as follows : Yeas : Councilmembers Gavin, Gilliam, Schock, Walters, Yearman and Mayor Kelly. Nays : None. iot .140000 .trogram Councilman Gavin made a motion, seconded by Councilman Walters, to approve revising the present ordinance regarding the Senior Citizen Mobile Home Rebate Program to authorize payment of the rebate to senior citizens owning mobile homes in the Cook County portion of Elgin, who do not pay the Mobile Home Local Service Tax. Yeas : Councilmembers Gavin, Gilliam, Schock, Walters, Yearman and Mayor Kelly. Nays : None. Intergovernmental Agreement with Kane County Regarding Roadway Access to Randall Road Planning Director Dahlstrom reviewed the Intergovernmental Agreement proposed by Kane County for Randall Road access . This agreement would extend a prior agreement with Kane County for include access points from Interstate 90 north to Illinois Route 72 . Mr. Dahlstrom pointed out that the proposed agreement is substantially different from the prior agreement in that intersection improvements would have to be paid for by the City or developers . The various proposed access points, costs, impact, and other related issues were discussed by the Council . The Council stated that they did not want to take any action until after discussing this matter with the Elgin representatives of the Kane County Board at the meeting to be held with them on October 22 . Authorization for Final Payment and Acceptance of 1997 South McLean Boulevard Resurfacing Project Councilwoman Yearman made a motion, seconded by Councilman Gavin, to accept the completed project and authorize the final payment of $7 , 894 . 98 to Allied Asphalt Paving Company. Yeas : Councilmembers Gavin, Gilliam, Schock, Walters , Yearman and Mayor Kelly. Nays : None . Agreement with Kane County for Temporary Signals at Randall Road and College Green Drive Councilman Gavin made a motion, seconded by Councilwoman Yearman, to authorize sending a letter to Kane County to install traffic signals at the above intersection at the City' s expense and to fund payment of said project from 1997 unallocated riverboat funds . Yeas : Councilmembers Gavin, Gilliam, Schock, Walters, Yearman and Mayor Kelly. Nays : None. ' 0 OF City of Elgin Agenda Item No. vy- e00. October 2, 1997 TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council FROM: Robert 0. Maim, Interim City Manager SUBJECT: Senior Citizen Property Tax Rebate Program PURPOSE The purpose of this memorandum is to provide the Mayor and members of the City Council with an update on the Senior Citizen Property Tax and Senior Citizen Mobile Home rebate programs, and to request direction on proceeding with the Cook County portion of the Mobile Home Rebate program. BACKGROUND Senior Citizen Property Tax Rebate Program A computer tape of eligible recipients was received from Kane County during the week of June 30, 1997 . The initial distribu- tion of checks totalled 2,624 and was completed that week. The Finance Department was inundated with telephone calls from seniors who had questions about the program. Surprisingly, the majority of callers were not aware that the State offered a senior citizen tax exemption program (administered through the County) or the requirements to be eligible for the exemption. An additional 135 checks have been distributed subsequently, and we continue to receive telephone calls from seniors who are not aware of the tax exemption. We continue to encourage those individuals who are eligible for the rebate program to complete the necessary paperwork and submit it to the county for approval. Once a copy of the approved paperwork is received, the City will issue a check to qualified seniors . We received the Cook County tape of eligible senior citizens the week of August 25, 1997 . The initial distribution of 548 checks was completed on September 9, 1997 . We have also received numerous telephone calls from Cook County seniors with questions about the program, many of which were not aware of the senior citizen tax exemption offered by the County. Additional checks will be issued for these individuals as well . Senior Citizen Mobile Home Rebate (SCMHR) Kane County rm. No computer tape was available from Kane County for individuals who qualified for the SCMHR. We did receive a printout of the 525 mobile home owners who were eligible to receive the rebate and those checks were distributed on September 4, 1997 . Senior Citizen Rebate Programs October 2, 1997 Page 2 eft. Cook County Cook County has informed us that they do not collect mobile home local services tax on individual mobile homes in the Cook County portion of Elgin. The Senior Citizen Rebate Program Ordinance (T17-96) states that in order to qualify for the senior citizen tax rebate, the owners of mobile homes must have qualified and obtained the 1997 Senior Citizens Reduction of Mobile Home Local Services Tax. Therefore, these residents do not currently qualify under the City program as they do not pay the local services tax. COMMUNITY GROUPS/INTERESTED PERSONS CONTACTED Kane County and Cook County. FINANCIAL IMPACT In 1997, $1,000,000 was budgeted for the Senior Citizen Rebate program in the Riverboat Fund account number 275-0000-791 . 79-01, Grants/Senior Citizen Homeowners . Expenditures for the Senior Citizen Rebate Programs to date total $700,715 . A break down of expenses is as follows : 2,624 Kane County Rebates ( Includes 135 Additional Checks Issued) $551,800 548 Cook County Rebates 109, 600 525 Kane County Mobile Home Rebates 18, 375 Estimated 206 Cook County Mobile Home Rebates 7 ,210* Miscellaneous Supplies and Postage 9 , 630 (Paper, Envelopes, Toner, Parcel Index Computer Tape) Employee Costs (Program Administration, Computer Programming, Check Printing) 4, 100 Total $700, 715 * Based on the total number of mobile home lots (411) in Cook County, the maximum Senior Citizen Mobile Home Rebate for Cook County residents could total $14 ,385 . However, inquiries indi- cate that 50 percent or less of the residents in the Cook County Mobile Home communities are senior citizens . It is estimated that the total program cost will equal $725,000 as additional rebates continue to be submitted. LEGAL IMPACT None. ALTERNATIVES 1 . Revise the present ordinance to authorize payment of the rebate to senior citizens owning mobile homes in the Cook County portion of Elgin who do not pay the Mobile Home Local Service Tax. Additionally, canvass mobile home parks in the , Senior Citizen Rebate Programs October 2, 1997 Page 3 Cook County portion of Elgin to obtain information necessary to process rebate checks (i .e. names, addresses, proof of ownership and birth date) . 2 . Due to the fact that Cook County mobile home owners do not pay the Mobile Home Local Service Tax, exclude these senior citizens from the rebate program which is in compliance with the current City ordinance. RECOMMENDATION Staff is requesting direction as to how to proceed with comple- tion of this program. Respectfully submitted, ii'71441'g- 2441A;t6; Nowicki Decto of Finance Robert 0. Maim Interim City Manager JRN/daw `0 OF ezo ` �ti. Memorandum ti City of Elgin 9A ,� 'ITO Vt.' February 11, 1997 9\1111)R4 t111 TO: Robert O. Malm, Interim City Manager FROM: James R. Nowicki, Finance Director i6 /L/ SUBJECT: Senior Citizen Tax Rebate I have contacted both the Kane County Treasurer and Kane County Clerk ' s offices regarding implementation of the Senior Citizen Tax Rebate program. Both the City and County are using the same criteria for the senior citizen rebate and the senior citizen exemption program. Therefore, we requested that the County include the City' s $200 senior citizen tax rebate on real estate tax bills for those taxpayers who qualify for the County' s senior citizen exemption. Due to the fact that no provisions exist in the Illinois Statutes authorizing governmental entities to provide rebates on real estate tax bills , Kane County has denied our request . The County Clerk ' s office indicated that if Elgin ' s request is initiated, other governmental units may have similar requests . Kane County has agreed to provide the City with their records (computer tapes, disks ) for use in processing the $200 senior citizen rebate . Kane County provides a grace period for seniors to apply for the exemption even though the January 1 deadline has passed. If an eligible senior citizen files a Certificate of Error with the Kane County Board of Review after the initial tax bill has been distributed, normally a revised bill reflecting the senior citizen exemption is approved for the second installment . The County suggested that it may be more beneficial to wait for the Board of Review to approve those late filed senior citizen exemptions , thereby maximizing the number of qualified individu- als receiving the rebate in one check distribution. The first tax bill is scheduled to be mailed in May with the late filers being accepted directly thereafter. Given this timeframe, we anticipate the $200 senior citizen tax rebate checks will be mailed during the month of June . I have also contacted the Cook County Treasurer' s office and will continue to work with them to obtain records for processing the $200 rebate for eligible senior citizens in the Cook County portion of Elgin. We would hope that checks for all qualifying seniors in both Kane and Cook County would be distributed at the same time. If you have any questions , please let me know. JRN/daw