Three referendums appeared on ballots Tuesday. Here’s how they fared:

McHenry County Recorder’s Office elimination

In a binding referendum, McHenry County residents voted in favor of eliminating the recorder’s office and folding it into the clerk’s office.

About 79 percent of voters voted “yes,” and 21 percent of voters voted “no,” according to unofficial results.

If approved, the office will be merged with the county clerk and will cease to exist Dec. 1, 2020.

In November 2016, voters elected Republican Joe Tirio as McHenry County recorder. He ran on a platform of eliminating that very office and merging it with the county clerk’s office.

Republican County Clerk Mary McClellan and Democratic County Board Chairman Jack Franks worked with Tirio to bring a resolution in front of the County Board, which voted to place the referendum on the primary ballot.

The recorder’s office, which has 3.4 million documents on file, is responsible for recording, retrieving and maintaining land records and real estate transactions, subdivision plans, military discharge papers and other records.

Most of the state’s 102 counties have a combined clerk and recorder’s office because state law requires a county to have at least 60,000 people to separate them. But with the advance of scanning and computer storage technology, several of the handful of counties with separate offices have consolidated them as a cost-cutting measure.

Voters in four counties since 2011 – Tazewell, McLean, Peoria and Cook – have chosen to consolidate their clerk’s and recorder’s offices.

Harvard: City park and library improvements

In Harvard, residents approved shuffling tax dollars to fund improvements and maintenance to city parks and the Harvard Diggins Library.

About 53 percent of voters voted “yes,” and about 47 percent of voters voted “no,” according to unofficial results.

Residents would not see an increase on their tax bills, but a “yes” vote could mean they won’t see a planned decrease, either.

About $100 from a homeowner’s property taxes goes toward paying off debt for the city swimming pool. The loan will be paid off in 2019, so the city no longer will tax residents for the payment.

This specific tax generates about $300,000 on an annual basis, Harvard officials said.

The city will split the funding, with half going toward the library to avoid service cuts and half going to the improvement of Harvard’s parks.

School district property taxes

Another referendum sought voters’ perspectives about whether school districts should cut their property tax levies by 10 percent.

More than 74 percent of voters voted “yes,” and less than 26 percent, voted “no,” according to unofficial results.

The County Board approved putting the advisory referendum question on the ballot in December, encouraging school districts to cut their property tax levies by 10 percent.

The 21-2 vote came on the heels of the board’s approval of a fiscal 2018 budget that includes an 11.2 percent reduction of the property tax levy.

Drafted by County Board members Michele Aavang, John Jung Jr. and Christopher Spoerl, residents agreed that they would like to see school districts do the same by 2020.