Vulcan Lakes Used as Excuse to Hike Sales Taxes 75%

To its credit, the Northwest Herald has covered the one week between the announcement by Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley and his city council majority of a major tax hike and the announced final vote with more than one story.

And, there are so many more stories to be written on this pending permanent plundering of Crystal Lake shoppers.

Remember the Vulcan Lakes Tax Increment Financing district.

That has a special meaning to me, because it is what pushed me over the edge to launch McHenry County Blog.

It’s not bad enough that the Crystal Lake City Council guaranteed that our (and “our” refers to every property owner in McHenry County) real estate taxes will be higher than they otherwise would have been with the passage of each TIF district, now they plan to add insult to injury by raising the city’s one percent sales tax to one and three-quarters percent.

That’s a 75% tax hike to those of that passed junior high math.

The Northwest Herald’s Thursday article by Jim Butts informs us that a big part of the money will go to jump start the Vulcan Lakes TIF district.

It doesn’t tell us that the reason for the 75% sales tax hike is to subsidize what the hand-picked developers of the Vulcan Lakes TIF district were supposed to do. The city’s consultant predicted that $115 million would be available over 23 years for Vulcan Lakes..

But, that’s apparently not enough.

Butts reports City Manager Gary Mayerhofer said (in an indirect quote):

”If the tax increase is approved, the city would borrow $10 million and use the estimated $4.6 million generated annually by the tax increase to pay down the debt.”

Of course, the subsidizing of developers is what a TIF district is all about.

And, there’s this business downturn, don’t you know.

But we can’t let a recession stand in the way of the political calendar, can we?

City council elections come every odd-numbered year.

That’s about a year from nows.

Funneling $10 million into Vulcan Lakes between now and then probably won’t convince people that it is a good investment, but by three years from now, when Mayor Shepley is up for re-election, there might be something to show for the money.

And, he will surely hope that people will have forgotten his staring role in the 75% city sales tax hike.

By then, the city will have put in motion two sources of tax subsidy money for its favored developers. This may be a first in Illinois municipal history.

A first I would rather not have to have happening in my home town. (No, I wasn’t born here. My family moved here in 1958. I was sixteen. We built the junior class Homecoming float where we lived at 100 W. Crystal Lake Avenue, before moving to 800 Broadway in Lakewood.)

“We now have a lot more flexibility to do precisely what we want,”

Shepley told Butts.

Using other people’s money.

That’s the way to go.


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