REPORT SUMMARY • Townships have the lowest LOCAL DEMOCRACY labor costs, and employ a AND THE TOWNSHIPS larger share of part time OF ILLINOIS employees. America's small local governments This is particularly important, since the provide quality services at low costs to largest component of local government taxpayers. One half of the local govern- expenditures is labor costs. ments in the United States have 1,000 or fewer residents. These smaller govern- More Efficient and Effective ments are well positioned to respond to the present public budget challenges. The success of small local governments, such as townships, results from various Local Democracy in Illinois factors: Illinois relies on local democracy. The • Local elected officials in smaller average local government serves 1,800 governments are able to take a more people in Illinois, compared to the nation- direct role in administering government al median (middle) of 2,850 people. finances and services. As in the rest of the nation, smaller gov- • Individual citizens have more influence ernments (municipalities) in Illinois tend in smaller governments. to spend and borrow less. • In smaller governments, including • The smallest local governments had townships, interest groups have less expenditures per capita that were gener- influence, because individual citizens ally one-half those of local governments have more influence. with from 10,000 to 250,000 population. Local government abolitions and consol- idations are effectively irrevocable and it Expenditures per capita in can be virtually impossible for discon- the smallest local govern- tented citizens to restore smaller units of ments were approximately government. On the other hand, cooper- one-fourth or less that of the ative agreements allow governments to city of Chicago. work together to periodically evaluate such arrangements to ensure that they • Most of the reporting local govern- continue to be in the public interest. ments with less than 2,500 population Thus, the "bigger govern- had no bonded indebtedness. In the ments spend less" theory is population categories above 25,000, bonded indebtedness per capita ranged not indicated by the actual from over $500 to nearly $5,000 in the experience. largest local government, Chicago. The larger local governments that result from consolidation are likely to lead to Superior Efficiency for higher rather than lower taxes and Townships spending per capita. Also importantly, the remoteness of such governments Townships and township road districts are from the electorate can dilute citizen an integral element of local democracy in influence more challenging and public Illinois. They build and maintain most of service quality can suffer. the road mileage in the state (through township road districts), administer relief to low income households, discover, list Enduring Value of Small Local and determine fair cash value of the prop- Government erties in the jurisdiction and provide a vari- ety of additional services. Consistent with The smaller township governments that the lower costs of local democracy, town- typify local democracy are generally ships have achieved superior efficiency. more efficient and they are better posi- tioned to provide quality public services • Township expenditures have grown at to their residents. The history and per- a lower rate than those of any other level formance of local democracy is witness of government in Illinois since 1992. to its enduring value. This preference for township govern- Some local governments, such as town- ment can be traced back centuries, to ships provide multiple services, while sources like the New England town school districts specialize, providing a meetings. The local democracy inherent single public service, education (and in smaller local governments has proven ancillary services such as school trans- to be timeless, by providing among the portation). Special districts generally most efficient and highest services. provide specialized services over a larg- Efficiency was defined as follows by er geographical area, especially where governance expert Robert Bish: it would be less efficient to provide services at the municipal level. The The ultimate measure of Illinois approach to local governance local government efficiency is consistent with the concept of "fiscal federalism," which holds that public is not a count of jurisdic- services should be administered as tions or taxing districts, close to the people as feasible. but rather their relative expenditures per capita for Townships Epitomize quality public services. Advantages The townships of Illinois epitomize the These attributes are particularly impor- advantages of local democracy. tant in today's challenging public finance Townships, together with township road environment. Smaller, more manageable districts provide local government servic- local governments are well positioned to es in 85 of the state's 102 counties. In provide value for taxpayer funding. parts of the nation where there are no township or township road district equiv- Generally, national data indicates that alent governments (whether in Illinois or smaller local governments spend and in the non-township states), citizens out- borrow less per capita than larger local side incorporated local governments are governments. dependent upon county governments for local services. Illinois Relies on Local Democracy Townships provide important services in Illinois. Township road districts build and This "smaller governments are more effi- maintain the township road systems. cient" pattern extends to Illinois. Illinois These systems comprise more than relies substantially on local democracy. one-half of the road mileage in the state. For the most part, local governments These roads are crucial to residents who tend to be small, which increases the live outside incorporated municipalities, access of citizens to their elected offi- but also to the state's economy, cials and other public administrators. especially its large agricultural industry. Illinois Road Mileage by Government 2009-2010 State 11% County 12% Township 52% Municipality 25% Figure 1 One of the substantial advantages of township road districts is their ability to Change in Total Expenditures ensure a high level of maintenance and ILLINOIS: BY TYPE OF GOVERNMENT: 1992-2007 snow clearance because their facilities tend to be located closer to the roads 74% they administer. (Figure 1) 66% Township Expenditure Trends 51% 50% The comparative efficiency of townships 35% is illustrated by expenditure trends. From 1992 to 2007, total township 17% expenditures increased 17 percent, after adjustment for inflation. In contrast, state State County Municipal Township School Special government expenditures rose nearly District District Figure three times as much, at 51 percent. The 2 rise in municipal expenditures was 50 percent, also nearly three times that of Average Wages & Salaries townships. County expenditures rose 66 ILLINOIS: BY TYPE OF GOVERNMENT: 2007 percent, nearly four times the increase in township expenditures. (Figure 2) $4,449 $4,358 $4,050 $3,776 Personnel expenditures and practices $3,730 also indicate the relative efficiency of $2,993 township governments in Illinois. Like the most efficient municipal govern- ments in Illinois, . townships tend to be smaller governments, with State County Municipal Township School Special District District small staffs. Figure 3 The average township staff is approxi- mately equal to the average for villages Part Time Employees in the state with a population of less than ILLINOIS: BY TYPE OF GOVERNMENT: 2007 1,600. Employee compensation represents the largest element of local government 77% expenditure. 53% Township wages and salaries levels per employ- 31% 25% ees are the lowest among 23% the various government 9% State County Municipal Township School Special types in the state of Illinois. District District Figure 4 (Figure 3) Average Wages & Salaries: Roads Further, townships rely to a large degree ILLINOIS: BY TYPE OF GOVERNMENT: 2007 on part time employees. (Figure 4) This not only reduces wage and salary expense, but also reduces employer paid fringe benefits. $6,042 $4,501 Similarly, the wages and salaries of $4,279 township road employees is well below those of road employees of state and $2,773 municipal governments. (Figure 5) Employer paid benefits would be less as well. State County Municipal Township Figure 5 REPORT SNAPSHOT Local Government: • Efficient and effective • Popular (elected officials have high ratings) • Low labor costs • Quality core services Expenditures Per Capita: • Smaller governments spend and borrow less • Smaller forms of government are more cost efficient providing more services at a reduced cost • Intergovernment agreements and cooperation Local government in Illinois rely less on state funding and pay for themselves to a greater degree than in 38 other states. Positive Public Official Ratings: • 88% Townships • 42% State • 27% Federal Citizen complaints far more likely to be attended to by the elected official Labor/Benefit Costs: Local townships employ a larger share of part time employees and have lower benefit costs Services: Myth: Combining services will save money and offer greater efficiencies. As well, the claimed “duplication of services” virtually never exists. Local governments have specific geographical areas of responsibilities. Pervasive Evidence: Thus, the evidence is pervasive, both at the national and local level. The smaller local governments