The Primal Urge of Government: Take as Much as It Can Get

Two local governments got recommendations from a board member to go easy on taxpayers.

No need to extract as much as possible from taxpayers was the suggestion of Grafton Township Supervisor and McHenry Grade School Board member John O’Neill.

Linda Moore

Moore suggested that the Grafton Township Board not increase its levy.

The other members present disagreed, not wanting to leave any money in taxpayers pockets that could be legally extracted under the Tax Cap law.

While the increase in the Consumer Price Index was 2.7 %, the board voted to increase its levy by 4.999%.

Any higher and Grafton Township would have had to place one of those rather meaningless black-bordered ads.

Why?

As Township Trustee Betty Zirk said, “I just want to make sure we get as much tax money from growth as we can get.”

John O'Neill

If the township board had just decided to increase its levy by 2.7%, that would not have been possible, if there was any growth in assessed valuation.

Jump to McHenry Grade School District 15, where board member John O’Neill argued that the levy should only be increased 1%.

O’Neill presented the litany of economic woes which have befallen McHenry;

  • The “Worst Recession since the Great Depression.”
  • Unemployment at 10%
  • Property Values plummeting whiles our friends at D156 are trying to hike our property taxes.
  • The McHenry City Council recently approved increasing it’s share of sales tax by 50%.
  • The day before the School Board’s levy hearing, the McHenry City Council was discussing raising water rates.

Every time McHenry’s residents turn around, they’re being “nickeled and dimed to death.”

“Let’s give the taxpayers in McHenry a break,” O’Neill said.

The board opted for increasing the levy 2.7%.

Administrators pointed out that O’Neill’s proposal would cause the district to lose $6-7 million over the next five years.

O’Neill pointed out that the district might need need to dip into our reserve, although it was originally meant for future buildingand expansion much the same way that the taxpayers have had to dip into their savings and 401K plans just to keep on paying the bills and avoid foreclosure although those savings were originally meant for retirement.

O’Neill was subjected to comments about his not really understanding school finance.

It seems to me he understood it, but decided in these hard times that taxpayers deserved a break.

Meanwhile, in Downstate Jonesboro, the school board rejected administration recommendations that its levy be increased by 4.5%.

The school board meeting was videotaped.

No votes appeared for the raising the levy. The board decided to forego the 2.7% increase in taxes that it could have gotten.

And Crystal Lake’s city council decided to take a pass on increasing its levy, but Crystal Lake has lots of money in the bank and is not limited by the Tax Cap because it is a Home Rule city.

As it did about two years ago, Crystal Lake could just increase its sales tax again.
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Are there other elected officials in McHenry County who have tried to get their boards not to max out on next year’s taxes?  Please let me know in the comment section.


Comments

The Primal Urge of Government: Take as Much as It Can Get — 12 Comments

  1. Is Moore trying to be a “hero” now? Too little too late if you ask me. She’s no hero; more like ZERO!

  2. Yes to your question Cal – in School District 158 there was a question at the meeting (already knowing the answer) along the lines of whether or not there would be any refund to the taxpayers for any of the “extra” money that was taken in over and above what was actually NEEDED.

    You can imagine the looks from those who wanted to take as much as they can get and from a few audience members who thought it was a reasonable question.

    It’s all a game called “Free Money Grab Levy” and the Taxpayers Lose.

  3. As long as the voters keep electing the same trolls to office they can expect nothing save a one way ride to the poor house.

  4. Nice try Linda. It is YOU that is costing us taxpayers. Frivilous lawsuits…and it goes on and on. The Trustees should be granted “Sainthood” for having to deal with you.

  5. Linda sez “It is the four votes on the township board that are costing the taxpayers.”

    More BS from Moore. Do you think that saying it over and over again will make it true? Linda YOU and YOU ALONE are the person behind the folly in Grafton.

  6. Linda, how much did you cost the township when you pilfered the township computers to remove the financial and the senior bus schedule? You could have “manned up” and told everyone that you did the deed. Nope!

    How much did you cost the township in lost money by failing to secure a transportation grant for the senior bus service? I hear it’s at least $40,000!

    Blame everyone else for your short comings and failings. It’s you and you alone.

  7. The folly in Grafton was curtailed thanks to Linda Moore. The trustees or saints as you state were and still are for wasteing 5 million . You people do not or will not see that the trustees are the problem. Too all of you that will not listen to reason and the true facts MERRY CHRISTMAS.

  8. The rollover trustees pattern of throwing away taxpayer money and violating state laws is consistently being repeated. No one would consider a grant not awarded, lost revenue. If the trustees vote against paying a bill, it does not get paid.

  9. How much money did past or present Trustees and the past Supervisor cost Taxpayers with the original building fiasco? Lawyers, Interest, Realtor, etc.?

    Then there’s the cost for trying to go around the new supervisor. Judge said something about “usurping”.

    Even on Christmas reality is ignored in favor of pointing a finger at one person.

  10. Like it or not, IT WAS Linda who dropped the ball and failed to secure the $40,000 senior transportation grant.

    Like it or not, it was Linda with destroyed the bus schedule resulting in Grafton seniors being left in the cold.

    Like it or not, it was Linda that stripped township computers of all financial records (she admitted this under oath).

    Like it or not, under Linda the financial records of the township have not been audited in years.

    Linda has destroyed Grafton Township and we are stuck with Linda for two more years.

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