Or are our elected officials trying hoodwink the public into thinking that expensive business licenses, cable franchise fees, and unnecessarily expensive permits are really not taxes but just fees?

In a recent post I took exception to a recent Schaumburg Cracker Barrel publication in which Mayor Larson said that Schaumburg was only raising the water and sewer rates in 2008 and nothing else.

The spending plan called for no new taxes being imposed or tax rate increases. Water and sewer rates did increase 10.75% effective April 1, primarily due to increases in the cost of water from Chicago.

At Tuesday’s Village Board meeting I let them know that I had done the research and found out that Schaumburg had increased fees and taxes 365 times in 2008!

Looking at the pages 125 and 126 of Schaumburg’s 2008 CAFR, the Village of Schaumburg collected $4,661,154 in liquor licenses, business licenses, building permits, and public improvement permits. I know for a fact that the village provides no direct services in return for liquor licenses and business licenses. Another major “fee” that is really a tax is cable franchise fees and addition $985,961. There is no service that is provided to the cable companies all this does is add to the cost of living for thousands of cable viewers in Schaumburg. This is a tax, not a fee for a service as Trustee George Dunham, Mayor Larson and the rest of the village board will have you believe, and they raised the rates on these licenses significantly in 2008.

I am interested in hearing what you think. Are these fees, taxes, or a little of both? Either way we should all agree that Schaumburg should adopt a comprehensive transparency plan to allow the citizens of Schaumburg to know what going on ahead of a tax/fee increase vote.

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