McHenry County Government: McHenry County Board Approves 2022 Budget With Flat Levy

Press release from the McHenry County Government:

11/17/2021 12:14 PM

WOODSTOCK, Ill. – The McHenry County Board approved a 2022 budget that once again reflects its financial strength and resiliency by rejecting an inflationary increase.

The $215.8 million budget is balanced, with a property-tax levy that will remain flat, except for capturing new growth, which is the inclusion of newly developed properties in the total property tax assessment.

This is the 11th straight fiscal year in which the County Board did not take an inflationary levy increase. McHenry County government’s tax levy is lower today than it was in 2008.

“County government is not immune from the tumultuous economic times wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, and it faces a number of expensive mandates imposed on us by the General Assembly. However, with rising inflation, increased fuel costs, and nationwide supply chain issues hurting  households and small businesses throughout McHenry County, now is not the time to be increasing our tax levy,” County Board Chairman Mike Buehler, R-Crystal Lake, said.

The County Board last approved a levy increase in 2011 – the state tax cap law allows local governments to capture an increase from the previous year’s tax extension equal to the rate of inflation as calculated by the Consumer Price Index. Furthermore, the County Board has demonstrated a commitment to tax relief by reducing its levy for three consecutive years, saving taxpayers more than $28 million over the three-year period had the levy remained at its 2016 amount.

The County Board is holding the levy flat despite a number of new unfunded state mandates. McHenry County faces a loss of millions in revenue because of a state law forcing the end of its contract with the federal government to house immigration detainees, as well as new laws mandating the purchase of body cameras for the Sheriff’s Office, and expanding voting opportunities and ballot access. The county has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the state law forcing the end of the immigration contract is unconstitutional.

Maintaining a flat property tax levy does not guarantee that a taxpayer’s bill next year will not increase due to a higher property assessment or other local governments increasing their tax levies. County government accounts for slightly less than 10 percent of a McHenry County property owner’s tax bill.

McHenry County took its open and transparent budgeting process to a new level this year by offering it for public display through Questica OpenBook, a powerful tool that allows viewers to take the budget apart for as deep a look as the user wishes. The budget, which has been on public review since October, can be found by clicking here.

Taxpayers also can visit the county’s Financial Dashboard, an online tool for reviewing revenues and expenses, both overall and year-to-date, since the 2017 fiscal year; it can be found by clicking here.

McHenry County’s fiscal year begins Dec. 1.

This press release was produced by the McHenry County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.