McHenry County is Number One is acres per person, but “only” Number Two–$5.17 per capita behind Lake County–in cost.
A friend of McHenry County Blog decided to compare the financials and acreage of the McHenry County Conservation District with those of similar open space districts.
Compared to other agencies, McHenry County scores Number One in acreage per capita.
While the average is 29 acres for each 1,000 individuasl, McHenry County has 81 acres for each 1,000 men, women and children.
The calculations show that we in McHenry County are almost Number One in cost per person.
Lake County taxpayers bear the highest per person cost for county-controlled open space.
Its Forest Preserve District is at $68.45 per capita.
The McHenry County Conservation District’s is at $63.18.
That’s over three times as high as neighboring Boone County’s Conservation District’s.
It’s about four times that of Macon County’s Conservation District.
And McHenry County’s has about twice the population weighted average per capita tax burden.
From below you can see the 2014 budgeted amount per capita from the Conservation and Forest Preserve Districts in Illinois:
- Boone County – $20.75
- Champaign County – $19.58
- Cook County – $34.17
- DuPage County – $45.20
- Kane County – $14.00
- Kendall County – $9.32
- Lake County – $68.45
- Macon County – $16.67
- McHenry County – $63.18
- Rock Island County – $33.40
- Winnebago County – $24.50
Comparing per person costs of most open space agencies in Illinois.
McHenry County also has the most acres per thousand in Illinois countywide open space tax districts:
- Boone County – 58 acres
- Champaign County – 19 acres
- Cook County – 13 acres
- DuPage County – 27 acres
- Kane County – 39 acres
- Kendall County – 23 acres
- Lake County – 43 acres
- Macon County – 31 acres
- McHenry County – 81 acres
- Rock Island County – 17 acres
- Winnebago County – 35 acres
= = = = =
If you want to express your opinion to Govenror Pat Quinn on whether he should sign or veto the bill (Senate Bill 3341 sponsored by State Senators Pam Althoff and Karen McConnaughay and State Rep. Mike Tryon) that would allow the McHenry County Conservation District to borrow more money without referendum approval, you may send him at email at the address below:
https://www2.illinois.gov/gov/Pages/ContacttheGovernor.aspx
Or call 1-312-814-2121.
If Quinn does not sign or veto the bill, it will automatically become law sixty days after passage.
The Number One glove comes from Dream Time.
Any wonder why we are number two?
How many McHenry County Board employees were recruited from Lake County which is number one in cost?
Hackmatack anyone??
As an attachment in the “Board Packet” for the Board meeting scheduled for Jan. 6, 2015, there is a document which involves the Conservation District.
The attachment contains the following statement:
“It was noted that all of the commissioners have read the application and staff report, and have heard and considered today’s testimony.”
If all the Board members treated every Board agenda item with the same due diligence as documented here, maybe the outlandish budgets for MCCD and other County entities would not be approved so readily!
Maybe the public would be informed in advance what the ongoing maintenance costs of County acquisitions would be?
$10 says the individual who prepared that chart works in the political sector, not the private sector.
One glaringly obvious metric has been omitted from that chart- the cost per acre. Which, if you actually gave a f*** about how much it cost to manage greenspace and open lands, would be the most important metric.
Macon County? $539/acre. McHenry? $778/acre. Lake? $1,599/acre. Cook? $2,601/acre.
It would be hard for an honest man to suggest that McHenry County’s costs are ‘almost Number One’.
You may want to rework those numbers as many sites are not maintained, but closed after the “first significant snow fall” through April 1st
If you do the math, you will find MCCD owns about a quarter of an acre for every family in the County.
The average residential lot in McHenry County is about a quarter of an acre.
In other words, MCCD owns as much land, per family, as the average family owns!
Why are we so expensive when we buy land, plop a sign on it, and just cut the grass for the most part?
Lake and Cook (only 2 I have gone to other than McHenry) have beautiful areas with drinking water and bathrooms.
I obviously have no data to back up, but assume mousy of our cost is “labor”.
I like tent camping at Marengo Ridge, Rush Creek, and the Hollows. I have been taking my 3 boys camping in McHenry MCCD sites for 12 years. The sites are safe, well maintained with good facilities. We have enjoyed many MCCD educational and recreational activities. I support MCCD
Is it a good value lesson for children: enjoy what you like, do not consider the cost, do not consider the effects of the cost on your fellow citizens, but instead voice an opinion which serves to further the cause of those who incur the costs and would prefer not to have their expenditure decisions scrutinized?