Homewood to make use of gaming tax income to bolster police and fireplace pension funds

The Homewood Village Board accepted an ordinance that allocates the village’s share of regional gaming tax income from the Wind Creek Casino to its police and fireplace pension funds on the Oct. 28 assembly. 

According to Homewood Director of Finance Amy Zukowski, the aim is to slender a long-standing funding hole and meet state pension necessities. The Illinois Pension Code requires each police and fireplace pension funds to be funded at 90% by 2040. As of April 30, 2025, the Police Pension Fund was 55% funded, whereas the Fire Pension Fund was at 72.2%, she mentioned. 

Using proceeds from the gaming tax income, Homewood will contribute as much as $150,000 yearly from its portion of the 1/forty third Regional Gaming Tax to the police and fireplace pension funds starting in April 2026. The extra contributions will proceed every fiscal yr till each pension plans are funded at 90%, Zukowski mentioned. 

According to Zukowski, the village receives about $12,000 monthly, or roughly $144,000 yearly, from a 3% regional gaming tax that’s divided amongst 43 south suburban municipalities. Separately, the village has an intergovernmental settlement the place it receives 45% of a special 2% gaming tax share that’s break up solely between Homewood and East Hazel Crest, which receives 55%. That 55/45 break up shouldn’t be a part of the regional distribution.  

Zukowski mentioned that the extra income will assist deal with an estimated $1.6 million deficit within the village’s public security pension techniques. She famous that a part of the shortfall is from Homewood amassing about 93% as an alternative of 100% of its property tax levy every year, resulting from property proprietor delinquency and the enchantment of property tax payments.

Any gaming tax income exceeding $150,000 yearly will likely be transferred to Homewood’s capital fund for future municipal tasks. This will assist gradual the expansion of the village’s $1.6 million police and fireplace pension funding deficit, which has gathered over the past decade. Zukowski mentioned that the gaming income doesn’t remove the shortfall, because the deficit is considerably greater than the annual contribution from the gaming income. Staff will subsequently be making a separate long-term plan to handle the remaining hole at a future assembly, she mentioned.