Besides the 33% McHenry County Conservation operating fund approval by voters, which cut the MCCD levy decrease from 60% to 45% when bonds re paid off, the County Board also voted for a levy higher that could have been lower.
The three defeated McHenry County Board Democrats–Kelli Wegener, Theresa Meshes and Lou Ness–provided the deciding votes in the 10-8 vote not to keep the property tax levy lower.
Instead of following through on the promise to cut the levy by the $11.8 million for which taxpayers paid the 708 Mental Health Board last year when the quarter of a percent replacement sales tax was passed,, the Board majority voted to keep part of the planned reduction.
The excuse was
Terri Greeno brought forth an amendment for a revised budget that utilized excess general fund balances to pay for some of the supplementals and would have provided a new growth flat levy (minus MHB) but the amendment failed on a voice vote followed by raised hands of thosefavoring the amendment.
The record vote can be seen below with the tax hikers being
- Pam Althoff – R
- Joe Gottemoeller – R
- Theresa Meshes – D
- Lou Ness – D
- Mike Skala – R
- Brian Sager – R
- Larry Smith – R
- Gloria Van Hof – D
- Kelli Wegener – D
Lame Duck Democrats are shown in boldface type.
Tax-friendly Board members–all Republican–voting against the lower than possible tax levy cut follow:
- Terri Greeno – R
- Eric Hendricks – R
- Carl Kamienski – R
- Jim Kearns – R
- Matt Kunkle – R
- John Reinert – R
- Mike Shorten – R
- Tracie V0n Bergen – R
The video is here: https://www.youtube.com/live/ZFT46Hivzzs?si=DNliW3I6VRNdOCzi&t=2816
Below is the press release the County sent out:
County Approves Balanced FY2025 Budget
WOODSTOCK, Ill. – The McHenry County Board has approved a balanced 2025 budget and responsible levy.
The $270 million budget and the $64.99 million levy were both approved at the Nov. 19
County Board meeting after a 30-day public review period.
The 2025 fiscal year for McHenry County begins Dec. 1.
The owner of a $350,000 home who takes the homestead exemption will pay at least $60 less for the County’s share of their tax bill; the new levy is $8.8 million smaller than the current 2024 levy of $73.8 million because of the successful voter referendum earlier this year to remove the Mental Health Board levy and replace it with a retail sales tax.
County government, on average, accounts for about 7.6% of residential property tax bills. While the $270 million budget is $21 million more than the current 2024 budget, the largest portion of this increase is due to the impending start of construction to widen the northern segment of Randall Road.
This improvement project is 80% funded by the federal government, and the County has been saving for years to pay its share.
Another increase is due to the addition of three new McHenry County Sheriff’s Office deputies; this is the first expansion of the deputy roster in 20 years.
These expenses are in addition to the ongoing impact of inflation, increasing supply costs, and a highly competitive labor market, as well as unfunded mandates imposed by the General Assembly.
McHenry County displays its budget through Questica OpenBook, an interactive tool that allows users to view all levels of the budget, from a high-level summary by category to revenue or expense account detail by fund and department. You can review the 2025 budget by visiting https://mchenrycountyil.openbook.questica.com/.
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The money for the new deputies could have been taken from the RTA Sales ax, instead of people’s property taxes.
