McHenry Grade School Board Changes Tax Levy Meeting Location

McHenry Grade School Board member John O’Neill says that the location of the Board meeting which will set next year’s tax levy has been changed to the District Office at 1011 N. Green St., in  McHenry.

Below is a repeat of what is at stake:

The following email has arrived from McHenry Elementary District School Board member John O’Neill:

John O’Neill

At the McHenry School District #15 Board of Education meeting held Tuesday, November 13th at Landmark School in McHenry we voted on publishing the “Notice of Proposed Property Tax Increase” in the Northwest Herald.

his will satisfy the Truth in Taxation requirement for the district to propose an increase in its tax levy. Imagine my surprise when I read it and at first glance I was drawn to the words,

This represents a 52.96% increase over the previous year.

My blood pressure shot right up there but then my heart nearly stopped when I saw the bottom showing the notice was submitted by…

John O’Neill, Secretary
Board of Education
McHenry School District #15

…part of the duty of secretary is that notices of meetings, agendas, etc go out in the name of the secretary.

At the meeting we discussed the tax levy at great length and the district’s Finance Committee Chairman and Business Manager both gave an overview of the Tax Cap Law or PTELL which really makes it difficult for taxing bodies to create their budget without enacting a tax increase.

One of the difficulties is that if there has been any new construction in the previous year, without taxing to the maximum the district will forever lose the ability to receive taxes from the new construction.

When Our illustrious State Rep. Jack Franks was pushing for a fundamental change in the governance of McHenry County with his County Executive referendum one of his talking points was that McHenry County sought the maximum tax for each of the past 21 years.

District #15’s tax levy is the type of “maximum tax” he was referring to.

Taxing districts overwhelmingly tax to the max under the so-called “Tax Cap” law in order to share the tax burden with all properties in a district, not just those which were built in previous years.

While Franks railed against the County for levying the maximum amount, there was a deafening silence from him regarding other taxing bodies such as

  • School Districts
  • Municipalities
  • Library Districts and
  • Fire Protection Districts

which regularly tax to the max.

This is typical of the Liberal Left when they give you the “truth” but not the whole truth.

After all the dust settles, McHenry School District #15 is seeking an increase in the neighborhood of 3.24% along with a bond repayment of 1.22% for a total increase of 4.46%.

This does not mean that a homeowner’s property tax bill will necessarily increase by 4.46% due to the convoluted nature of property tax calculations; not to mention the fact that a homeowner may win a property tax appeal and have their taxes lowered – in some cases.

The attached notice is, in fact an invitation to the Public Hearing which will be held at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, November 11, 2012 at the District headquarters on Green Street McHenry Middle School, 2120 W. Lincoln Road in McHenry. I hope to see many taxpayers there.

The McHenry Grade School Notice of the intent to increase District 15’s levy by over 50%. Click to enlarge.


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