Huntley to raise property tax levy, but opts against taking inflation

Huntley’s Village Board is considering a property tax levy that, if approved this month, would raise the amount of property taxes collected, but lower the village’s tax rate.

When considering its levy, the village can choose to collect property taxes from both inflation over the past year and new construction added to the tax rolls.

If the village opts to move forward with the choice made in November, Huntley would just collect new growth and forgo inflation. The decision, weighed against two other options, was unanimous and approved without much discussion.

Trustees who did make some comments said the goal was to keep the levy as flat as possible while still capturing some of the available dollars.

“These are hard times for people, and we’re in decent shape,” Trustee Ronda Goldman said.

The option, if approved, will increase the total levy by about 3.1%, up to $5.1 million from last year’s $4.98 million, village documents show. The increase amounts to about $156,000.

If approved later in the month, the tax levy will go onto the McHenry County Clerk’s Office, who will calculate how much the village is allowed to collect.

The other two options the village considered at its Nov. 10 meeting were an increase just to meet police pension requirements, which would have increased the levy by about 2.4% and lowered a residents’ tax bill by $3 for a $300,000 home.

The other option, which would have been the largest increase, would have raised the levy by more than 10% and potentially added $35 onto a residents’ tax bill for a $300,000 home, village material states.

That last option would have added more than $500,000 to the levy and triggered the need for a public hearing. Non-home rule municipalities across Illinois are tied to a property tax cap that allows them to raise taxes every year by less than 5% without a public hearing and a notice in the newspaper but anything over that amount requires both.

The tax levy is expected to be approved later this month. The village is required to file its new levy with the county clerk by Dec. 27, village material states.