Name: Larry W. Smith
What office are you seeking: McHenry County Board Member District 8
What is your political party? The candidate did not answer
What is your current age? 70
Occupation and employer: Self-employed real estate broker
What offices, if any, have you previously held? McHenry County Board District 8 Representative since 2014, Chairman of Planning, Environmental and Development Committee, Member of Finance Committee, Member of Community Development and Block Grant Commission
City: Harvard
Campaign website:
Education: Attended University of Wisconsin, Northern Illinois University, McHenry County College.
Community involvement: Member of McHenry County Enterprise Zone, Supporter of BraveHearts Therapeutic Riding and Education Center, Member of McHenry County Farm Bureau, Member of Moose International
Marital status/Immediate family: Married to my wife, Karen, 1 adult daughter
What are your top three priorities for this district?
Reducing taxes, creating jobs and protecting our farmland and open spaces are important to the voters in District 8. Our County government should explore all avenues and opportunities to bring jobs to McHenry County.Quality jobs have the potential to drive our economy, bring tax dollars to McHenry County, and ease the tax burden on the homeowners in McHenry County.
District 8 is predominately rural. Protecting our open spaces, farmland and water recharge areas is essential. Our decisions on the County Board should be guided by the objectives of the Unified Development Ordinance: “to preserve and maintain the unique and irreplaceable natural resources of McHenry County and environmental benefits of open space, clean air, ground water recharge and wildlife preservation”. Following these guidelines will ensure our quality of life, while protecting the rural heritage of McHenry County.
The county board chose to allocate $500,000 in RTA sales tax dollars for squad cars in the current budget. The county historically has used RTA sales tax money for transportation, but can use the funds for public safety as well. Do you believe the county should keep those funds for transportation? If not, what transportation projects or initiatives would you be willing to postpone or cancel? What sort of public safety initiatives should those dollars fund?
I believe the County should keep these funds for transportation. The reallocation of the $500,000.00 of RTA funds for squad cards was to help with our very tight budget this year. I look at this as a one time, this year only, situation.
What should be infrastructure priorities and projects over the next four years?
Our transportation department has put together a very comprehensive 5 year plan. In District 8, repairing our rural bridges has to be a priority, as many are several decades old, and need repair or replacement.
What is your position on data centers? Should the county be open to their development?
Data centers should be considered only if they can prove they will not be a burden to the taxpayers of McHenry County.
The county board is expected to have another tight budget season this year. If you’re an incumbent, please explain your vote on the current fiscal year budget, or, if you’re a challenger, how you would have voted. Looking ahead, if you must decide between raising the property tax levy or cutting programs, what would your choice be? What specific areas of spending would you seek to find cuts?
As a member of the Finance Committee, we looked at many scenarios regarding the levy and expenditures for County services. I voted for the plan brought to the Board that was the least burdensome for the taxpayers. Cutting spending results in reducing County services, and this needs to be done in a very thorough, careful and objective manner. Cutting waste and redundant programs is an efficient way of reducing spending.
One financial stressor is the end of COVID-19 relief dollars. What should the county do with programs funded by federal COVID-19 dollars?
I believe the Covid-19 pandemic money was meant for one-time expenditures within current programs. If ongoing expenses and new programs were created with those funds, new funding sources need to be identified. If not, cuts will have to be made.
McHenry County is limited in its ability to regulate solar farms under state law. What is your stance on solar facilities on agricultural land? Does the risk of lawsuits factor into your stance? What about battery storage?
I personally do not like to see solar farms on agricultural land. My personal opinion must be balanced with the rights of the property owners to do what they wish with their land. State law has tied our hands at the County level regarding solar farms, including battery storage facilities. The risk of a lawsuit and liability for the County, which affects the taxpayers, is always a factor in my decisions on these matters.
What is your stance on slaughterhouses in unincorporated McHenry County? What regulations should the county place on them?
The rural nature of District 8 and being an advocate of the farm to table process, makes the need for slaughterhouses a reality. However, there is a time and place for them. Each slaughterhouse has unique qualities which make them very difficult to regulate. They need to be located, and have conditions put on them, so as not to be a burden to their neighbors.
County board members receive a $21,000 base salary and are eligible for benefits, like medical and dental insurance. Should the county board be eligible for benefits? Should the board raise its salary?
I voted to eliminate the pension plan and mileage reimbursement for the County Board members. It is not a question of whether Board Members should be eligible for benefits, but a question of who should pay for them. I believe the County Board members should have access to the County’s health insurance, however, not at the expense of the taxpayers. The Board’s salary has not been raised since 2012, not even a cost-of-living raise. For the hours devoted to running a business the size of McHenry County, the salary is justifiable to attract quality candidates.