That’s why they call them taxes. If they were easy, they’d call them something else.

While Quad Cities geography connects East Moline and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf, Illinois’ abundance of school districts means their administrative environments are worlds apart. By consolidating duplicative administrative bodies, East Moline could generate taxpayer savings.

With pension debt straining city finances, local politicians have insisted on turning to its declining population for more tax revenue.