Sunday, October 30, 2005
Vulcan Lakes: Regional Impact, McHenry County Financing, BUT Use To Be Limited to Crystal Lake City Residents
When the City of Crystal Lake traded the gravel under Three Oaks Road to Vulcan Material Company for the resulting lakes when gravel mining was completed, everyone using Route 14 was affected.
The day after Three Oaks Road was closed, traffic on Route 14 increased 10%.
Now, Mayor Aaron Shepley and the Crystal Lake City Council are asked taxpayers throughout McHenry County to help pay for improvements to the Vulcan Lakes property, but not proposing to allow anyone but Crystal Lake residents to use the lakes.
The plan is to sink tens of millions of dollars into providing a marina for sail and fishing boats, canoes, and rowboats, plus beaches for swimming, but non-Crystal Lakers need not apply. And, by “Crystal Lakers,” the council means those living within the city limits, not those who pay taxes to Crystal Lake…as everyone does when he or she shops in the city.
The financing will be provided by a Tax Increment Financing District. Under a TIF, the assessed valuation is frozen. Any increase in assessed value, including inflationary increases all property get each year by way of the township multiplier, will still be taxed, but all the proceeds will go to the City of Crystal Lake to be spent “improving” the TIF district.
One might observe that this is a classic situation of “Taxation without Representation.” Non-Crystal Lakers have no voice beyond the public participation period in Tuesday night’s TIF hearing (7:30 at the Crystal Lake City Council Chambers).
A vote of the Crystal Lake City Council can basically force other tax districts which tax the property in the TIF districts to raise their tax rates on everyone else in order to obtain the same tax collections they would have received without the loss of up to an average of $6.1 million a year. And this will go on for 23 years.
The day after Three Oaks Road was closed, traffic on Route 14 increased 10%.
Now, Mayor Aaron Shepley and the Crystal Lake City Council are asked taxpayers throughout McHenry County to help pay for improvements to the Vulcan Lakes property, but not proposing to allow anyone but Crystal Lake residents to use the lakes.
The plan is to sink tens of millions of dollars into providing a marina for sail and fishing boats, canoes, and rowboats, plus beaches for swimming, but non-Crystal Lakers need not apply. And, by “Crystal Lakers,” the council means those living within the city limits, not those who pay taxes to Crystal Lake…as everyone does when he or she shops in the city.
The financing will be provided by a Tax Increment Financing District. Under a TIF, the assessed valuation is frozen. Any increase in assessed value, including inflationary increases all property get each year by way of the township multiplier, will still be taxed, but all the proceeds will go to the City of Crystal Lake to be spent “improving” the TIF district.
One might observe that this is a classic situation of “Taxation without Representation.” Non-Crystal Lakers have no voice beyond the public participation period in Tuesday night’s TIF hearing (7:30 at the Crystal Lake City Council Chambers).
A vote of the Crystal Lake City Council can basically force other tax districts which tax the property in the TIF districts to raise their tax rates on everyone else in order to obtain the same tax collections they would have received without the loss of up to an average of $6.1 million a year. And this will go on for 23 years.
Labels: Aaron Shepley, Crystal Lake, Route 14, Tax Increment Financing District, Taxation without Representation, TIF, Vulcan Lakes
