Getting as much money out of taxpayers is pretty much the goal of every tax district official, from school board member to township trustee.

To do that, boards need to ask for more than the increase in the Cost of Living allowed by the Illinois Department of Revenue under the Tax Cap law.

Virtually every tax district will ask for the maximum increase allowed.

That’s 3% this coming year.

103% is multiplied by what is called the “tax extension,” the amount of taxes each district is allow to collect from local property owners, to determine how much the tax district can collect in 2013.

But there’s more.

If there has been new construction, as there has been on Crystal Lake’s Route 14 shopping corridor, local park districts, schools, McHenry County College, the Mental Health Board, townships, county government, etc., have to ask for more than 103% of last year’s tax take IN ORDER TO capture the new growth.

I have suggested that legislators could amend the PTELL (the technocrats’ acronym for the Real Estate Tax Cap) law by allowing each government under it to pass a resolution authorizing county officials to tax all of the new growth, rather than using the current practice of balloon levying.

So far, I haven’t noticed such legislation has been introduced.

Last week, the McHenry County Board approved a multi-year contract with the McHenry County Economic Development Commission that uses the same formula for increases contained in the Tax Cap formula used to maximize the Tax Take.

Might the roll call on that question be a good indication of which County Board members will vote in favor of maximizing the County’s Tax Take?

I think it will, so I present it below:

EDC related Resolution vote count is as follows:   19 yes    5 no

AYES:       Merkel, Miller, Munaretto, Nowak, Peschke, Provenzano, Salgado, Schmidt, Wheeler, Bless, Breeden, Donner, Draffkorn, Heisler, Hill, Jung, Kurtz, McCann and Koehler

NAYS:     Schuster, Yensen, Donley, Evertsen and Hammerand

My prediction is that most of those who will vote to maximize your County tax bill voted “Yes” on the EDC subsidy resolution.

I will further predict that the vote on the tax levy will not occur until after the election, so the above roll call, plus last year’s “Tax to the Max” roll call will be the best you are going to get before you have to cast your vote.

If you think the County Board is not moving in the direction of maximum taxation, please read this May 13, 2012 article.

Those voting against cutting the budget (read the story here) were

• Bob Bless (D1)
• Scott Breeden (D2)
• Mary Donner (D3)
• Jim Heisler (D2)
• John Jung (D5)
• Donna Kurtz (D2)
• Mary McCann (D6)
• Peter Merkel (D4)
• Marc Muneratto (D1)
• Kathy Schmidt (D3)
• Ken Koehler (D2)

On a second roll call the following voted for the “Tax to the Max” levy (again, see this article):

15 members voted in favor:

• Robert Bless
• Scott Breeden
• Sue Draftcorn (a switch)
• Mary Donner
• Jim Heisler
• Tina Hill (a switch)
• John Jung
• Donna Kurtz
• Mary McCann
• Pete Merkel
• Anna May Miller (a switch)
• Marc Munaretto
• Robert Novak (a switch)
• Kathy Bergan Schmidt
• Ken Koehler

Maybe the League of Women question screeners at the last week in September County Board candidates’night will allow a question that will pin down the incumbents running for re-election on the question of whether they will vote to increase the County levy so much that our County taxes will increase as much as the law allows.