MCC Joins Parade to Tax to the Max

McHenry County College

Read the following press release carefully and you will see that McHenry County College’s Board voted to leave no pocket unpicked as it instructed the McHenry County Clerk to maximize its tax take.

The maximum increase the Property Tax Cap allows is 1.5% more than last year’s billed amount, plus any new growth in the district.

So, of course, next year’s request is 1.5% more than last year’s. Got to squeeze as much out of the turnips as possible, even if they are worth less than last year.

But, to capture all the new growth, which we all know is nothing spectacular, the Board added on an additional 7.5 percentage points, increasing its levy by 9%.

Not that McHenry County College is unique.  As Jean-Baptiste Colbert, French Finance Minister under King Louis XIV, said,

“The art of taxation is like plucking a goose: to get the most feathers with the least amount of hissing.”

No one voted against the maximization of taxation levy.

The only winner in this is the newspaper in which a big black-bordered ad will have to be placed.

If you see the ad, please copy it and email it to McHenry County Blog.

Here’s the press release:

MCC BOARD OF TRUSTEES APPROVES TAX LEVY REQUEST

[Dec. 15, 2011.Crystal Lake, IL] The McHenry County College Board of Trustees approved a resolution for a 9.9 percent tax levy to account for the impact of potential new growth in the county.

Mary Miller

Based on the current property tax cap, Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth of 1.5 percent and the county’s equalized assessed valuation, the 2011 levy is expected to result in a total tax rate of $.3394 per $100 of assessed valuation. Therefore, the impact on an in-district homeowner will be an increase of approximately $7 per year on a $300,000 home.

“Even though we asked for a 9.9 percent increase, the actual levy will increase between 1.9 and 2.2 percent due to new construction in the county,” said MCC’s Chief Financial Officer, Larry West. “The new levy will help the College keep up with inflation,” he said.

Board chair, Mary Miller, stated “we take great care and responsibility in how we manage this money and how to use it toward improving educational and workforce programs and services that will benefit our community members.”

The college district relies on the county property taxes for approximately 63 percent of its revenue.

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When the college was founded, the referendum committee proposed that students pay one-third, property taxpayers pay one-third with the state having promised to pay one-third.  The state officials obviously lied.  I wonder if what students pay. is keeping fiath with what the voters were told in 1968.


Comments

MCC Joins Parade to Tax to the Max — 1 Comment

  1. As to how they handle “our” money – I still remember the package deal they gave Packard. Sorry, no trust here.

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