Village eyes no increase in tax levy for 2021
HUNTLEY – The Huntley Village Board will attempt to hold the line on property taxes in 2021 as the village faces increased demands to fund police pensions.
The board set Dec. 10 as the date for a hearing on the village’s budget for the coming year, as well as the tax levy.
The only question in the budget is where the board plans to cut to make up for the $220,807 increase in contributions to the village’s police pension fund. The village is required by state law to increase contributions until the pension fund is 90% of fully funded by the year 2040.
The increase in contributions to police retirements will bring the fund from $978,039 currently to $1,198,846 next year. At that level, nearly 25% of all property tax dollars will go to pay for police pensions.
To meet the commitment without raising the levy, the village will have to cut revenue to all departments, reducing it from the current $3,070,917 to $2,850,110.
“In these tough times, with people struggling, the village has to lead by example,” said Mayor Charles Sass. He pointed out that a zero increase in the tax rate levied for the village doesn’t mean that people’s taxes won’t go up as the other side of the equation depends on the value of the real estate being taxed. He said the village taxes for a certain amount of money.
Cathy Haley, Huntley finance director, presented the board with three options for finding the money to fund police retirement. Besides the zero dollar option chosen by the board, she showed figures that would allow the village to gain revenue by capturing the new growth in houses within the village, along with the increase in equalized assessed valuation, or the value of the property as determined by the county assessor.
With Huntley lying across county lines, figures for McHenry County assessments were increased by 3.9% while values for property in Kane County declined by 0.7%. Haley’s plan for gaining revenue by capturing new grown would have increased the levy by 0.96%, or about $9 annually on a $250,000 home.
While not campaigning for it, Trustee Harry Leopold pointed out the $9 increase probably wouldn’t be noticed by the average homeowner on a tax bill with larger amounts going to other taxing bodies, such as School District 158.
“But I’d know it was there,” Sass said.
The third option presented to the board would have funded the pension fund contribution through a tax hike and would have meant an increase of 4.6% or about $23 annually on a $250,000 home.
Homeowners who will see an increase in their tax bill reside in the Southwind subdivision at Reed and Haligus roads on the village’s east side. Unlike other subdivisions where homeowners associations care for maintenance of public spaces, Southwind is maintained by the village with costs covered by a special service area property tax paid only by residents in that subdivision.
Haley presented charts showing the $26,500 collected by the special tax fail to meet increasing costs for maintenance, which she listed as $46,485 for the coming year.
The board gave approval for increasing the budget by $5,000 a year, which wouldn’t cover the total amount for the maintenance. It would have a $7 per year impact on the average home, meaning homeowners would pay between $75 and $80 per year for the service, an amount Sass called “a good deal.’’
