Rockford Park District’s Drastic Cuts Means Higher Property Taxes

Not even a Christmas miracle could help Rockford Park District's money problems. Tough decisions had to be made, staff cuts, program cuts, properties sold, but the reality is there just were not enough options for the Park District's Board of Commissioners. Because of the budget shortfall, as reported by Eyewitness News, Rockford homeowners are going to feel the effect.

Even with every cut and every avenue explored, Rockford Park District is still $480,000 in the red. Not good. This shouldn't be of surprise. Sure, it seems like there have been financial woes within the Park District for some time, but the state of Illinois' own money problem combined with the COVID-19 crisis certainly does not make financial matters any easier.

The district says major revenue sources, totaling up to $2 million, were lost when it was forced to close most of its facilities and cancel sports tournaments this year during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Now, that nearly half-a-million-dollar deficit will rest on the shoulders of the taxpayer, even with all cuts and changes made over the past several years. Tyler Smith, Rockford Park District's Board Vice President said this to Eyewitness News,

There’s an expression: ‘dying by a thousand cuts,’ and we have cut everything we could.

You can read more here.

JB Love is ½ of  Q98.5's Lil Zim & JB In The Morning, weekday mornings from 5:00 a.m. to 10 a.m. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.