Property owners made it loud and clear. They're against a proposed 16.8% property tax increase in Rock Island County.
"There is not a need unless they can prove to me that we`re going to go under water, and I`m not really happy with the fact that the only way they can get their money is to threaten to cut police officers and working people," Rock Island property owner Paul Laird said.
Not only are property owners frustrated, but members of the Quad Cities Chamber and the Rock Island County Farm Bureau are standing against the move.
"As a business organization, we are concerned about the business impact and existing business retention," Quad Cities Chamber member Pryce Boeye said.
"The bottom line is this. A 16.8% property tax increase is a major concern to our members," Rock Island County Farm Bureau's DeAnne Bloomberg said.
Rock Island County Administrator Dave Ross says he agrees with everyone's concern, but he says his proposed hike of around $38 on a $100,000 property needed to be done to right some previous moves with county spending.
"The county has to go on with best practices. They cannot keep doing things business as usual. That does not mean raising taxes just for the sake of doing it, absolutely not," Ross said.
"Where are you going to cut it from? Where are the funds? We can`t afford the `best practices,'" a concerned property owner said.
Ross says this proposal needs to pass for Rock Island County to avoid issues the State of Illinois is facing now.
"I can certainly see ourselves getting to that point in the future. We cannot let our county get to that point. We need to start making the hard choices now," Ross said.
However, making those hard choices doesn't sit well with the people who have trouble enough making their own ends meet.
There may be more pain ahead for Rock Island County taxpayers. Ross says the county could seek a second property tax next year to deal with expenses in 2017 and beyond. That vote, though, will need to be approved by voters.