A decision on whether to raise the McHenry County property tax levy – a move that has drawn criticism from County Board members, both political parties and taxpayers – is expected Tuesday.

The McHenry County Board might opt to reset its levy to its level before the Mental Health Board sales tax referendum was approved last year – despite telling voters the levy would decrease, as it did last year. But the board could also go in a different direction.

[ McHenry County Board to take up trio of solar farms ]

A final vote on next year’s budget and property tax levy is scheduled for Tuesday evening’s County Board meeting, ahead of the county’s new fiscal year starting Dec. 1.

The County Board last month placed on review the so-called “lookback” option which, if approved, would reset the levy to its fiscal 2024 level of about $73.8 million.

McHenry County Chief Financial Officer Kerri Wisz said Thursday the county has made just under $6 million in cuts to this year’s budget.

Wisz said the county is also seeking to abate about $4.2 million, meaning taxpayers would not be charged for those dollars. Tuesday’s meeting agenda includes an item seeking that abatement.

If the board goes with the lookback and the $4.2 million abatement, the taxpayers would pay around $69.5 million, Wisz said.

Officials confirmed that an amendment for taking the maximum inflationary increase and new property growth, which would result in a smaller tax levy increase than the lookback option, would be available on Tuesday. Other options could also come up for a vote.

When the county went to voters asking for a sales tax increase to fund the Mental Health Board, officials said the property tax levy, which had funded the mental health services, would be lowered in exchange if the measure was approved.

That happened last year, when the county removed nearly $11 million from its levy. A small increase was added to the levy, making it around $65 million.

Tuesday, if the board rejects the lookback but increases the levy to capture new growth and by the allowed inflation-tied amount, the levy would be around $67.7 million.

Most board members attended a finance committee meeting earlier in the month, where some of the proposed cuts came up. Those included using RTA dollars for squad cars, moving transportation bridge and matching levy to a general fund, reducing nonunion raises from 3.25% to 3%, dropping support to the University of Illinois extension and soil and water conservation and a hiring freeze. Officials said some of those ideas were rolled into the $4.2 million abatement.

Some of the board members expressed support for a hiring freeze on Thursday, but some officials pushed back. County Administrator Peter Austin, who is retiring in January, expressed concern about the county board getting involved in day-to-day hiring decisions.

During a lengthy discussion on Thursday, county officials laid out what would happen if the county went with the lookback or a lesser levy increase.

For the owner of a home with a $325,000 value, the lookback option would increase the county share of the property tax bill by about $33. That homeowner’s bill would be about $20 more if the county maxes out.

County Treasurer Donna Kurtz said going with the lookback is needed to make the county fiscally stable and sustainable. She said dipping into fund balances for recurring expenses could lead to decreased investment income, risk lawsuits for failure to provide services, and leave the county vulnerable if unexpected costs, like disasters or a recession, occur.

Some of the financial challenges include about $1 million in SAFE-T Act costs, inflation over the past several years and federal COVID-19 relief money going away, Kurtz said.

McHenry County raised its levy for the first time in over a decade for its fiscal 2023 levy. In the past couple of years, the board has narrowly chosen to take some, but not all, of the inflationary increase.

Wisz said expenses are increasing and if the county doesn’t keep up with inflation, then it is making cuts. County officials said last month they had lowered the levy over the past 10 fiscal years, which has saved taxpayers around $128.2 million in taxes since fiscal 2017.

Both major McHenry County political parties have weighed in on the levy.

The McHenry County Republican Party, which enjoys a 15-3 board supermajority, has come out against tax increases in general and the lookback option in particular, citing, among other things, county leaders promising to get rid of the Mental Health Board levy in exchange for the sales tax and board members promising to hold the line on taxes when they ran for office. The party argues the lookback would go against the will of the voters and the promises those leaders made.

The Democratic Party of McHenry County said Republicans and their policies over the years had caused the budget situation and called on them to fix it.

“Fiscal responsibility doesn’t mean never raising revenue, it means telling taxpayers the truth, managing funds wisely, and planning ahead,” Ruth Scifo, chair of the McHenry County Democratic Party, said in part in a news release. “The Republican Board majority has had years to do that and chose not to. Now they need to stop hiding behind the ‘no new taxes’ slogan and fix the problem before it gets worse.”

Ahead of the vote next week, the board had a variety of opinions.

Board member Matt Kunkle, R-Algonquin, said he’s “a bring-the-pain kind of guy” because people don’t make changes without pain, and he feels the board and staff should take on pain rather than taxpayers.

Kunkle said he could support the lookback option if the county set up a committee to cut expenses and include safeguards to try to reduce tax burdens.

Board member Mike Shorten, R-Crystal Lake, said he didn’t think a committee like the one Kunkle suggested was necessary.

“I don’t think we need a DOGE committee,” Shorten said, saying the county board serves the function of looking at costs.

Shorten said a lot of challenges come from Springfield, but asked people who want a flat levy what cuts they would suggest.

Board member Jim Kearns, R-Huntley, said he was “disturbed” about some of the cuts coming from the transportation side. Kearns also said the county board needs to be thinking about next year’s budget stuff, but the only sustainable option at this point seemed to be the lookback.

Board member Joe Gottemoller, also a Crystal Lake Republican, said the lookback allows the county to circumvent the property tax cap, which exists to limit governing bodies to the lesser of cost-of-living or 5%.

“That’s one of the problems that I have with it,” and one that the voters who passed the sales tax have, Gottemoller said.

Tuesday’s County Board meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the county building, 667 Ware Road, Woodstock.