Financial Information

The District’s Financial Position

Taken as a whole, the District’s financial position is stable even though it is experiencing a severe decline in the Equalized Assessed Valuation (EAV).  This year the District saw an increase of 7.71% in EAV. The District maintains solid financial reserves and prudent financial management and planning.

Contributing factors to our favorable financial position:

Tax Levies

The Waukegan Park District is empowered by the State of Illinois to levy and collect taxes on all taxable properties within the district for all corporate purposes.

Appropriation Ordinance

According to law, the Waukegan Park District must adopt an annual budget and appropriations ordinance. A public hearing must be held and publicized at least 30 days in advance.

Compensation Reporting

The Waukegan Park District Board of Commissioners approved the Fiscal Year 2023-24 budget on April 25, 2023. In accordance with Public Act 97-0609, Section 7.3 compensation reporting requirements, a physical copy of that report is now available at the Administrative Center at 1324 Golf Rd., Waukegan, IL 60087.

Among the law’s requirements are the following:

  1. All IMRF employers must prepare, within 6 days of the approval of the budget, the total compensation package for each employee having a total compensation package that exceeds $75,000 per year; and
  2. Any IMRF employer that approves an employee’s total compensation package equal to or in excess of $150,000 per year must post on its website, at least 6 days before approval, the total compensation for that employee.

Bond Ratings

Bond ratings are grades given to bonds that indicate their credit quality. Private independent rating services such as Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s provide evaluations of a bond issuer’s financial strength, or its ability to pay a bond’s principal and interest in a timely fashion. The Waukegan Park District maintains a high bond rating according to both rating services.

IMRF Employer Cost & Participant Information

Vendor Information Reporting

In 2021, the State of Illinois enacted Public Act 102-0265 – Property Tax – Vendor Report. This law requires that any taxing district with a property tax levy of more than $5,000,000 must make a good faith effort to collect and electronically publish data as to whether vendors and subcontractors doing business with the taxing district are minority, women, or veteran-owned businesses. The Waukegan Park District is included in this requirement.