Election 2024: Cary says home rule has ‘no downside,’ but opponents see it as a license to tax

The village of Cary seeks to be a home-rule municipality in order to have more control over funds and ordinances, but opponents say that increased local power is exactly why Cary shouldn’t be a home-rule community.

Mayor Mark Kownick asserted that “there is no downside” for Cary to be a home-rule village and said more local government control would be better going forward.

“We don’t want the state to tell us what to do anymore,” he said.

Many opposition groups are based in real estate, since home rule can mean higher property taxes. Other opposing views include too much government oversight and concerns about maintaining accountability for public officials.

“We believe property owners should retain their control over taxes and regulations,” Illinois Realtors Government Affairs Director Neeley Erickson said.

Kownick acknowledged the Illinois Realtors’ outright opposition at a Village Board meeting March 5. Residents have been receiving flyers in the mail from the real estate organization’s members in opposition to home rule, claiming it would increase grocery bills and allow villages to approve taxes without resident approval.

“That is misleading and just not true,” Kownick said.

Village trustees have discussed the topic at multiple meetings since September with the hopes that home-rule status will allow the municipality to increase sales taxes and fund public infrastructure.

Local voters will be able to decide the matter on the March 19 primary ballot. This is the first time the village has pursued home-rule status, village officials said.

If the home-rule status passes, the village is aiming to implement a 1% retail sales tax. The village estimated that the 1% tax could bring in an extra $500,000 to $600,000 each year, Cary Assistant Village Administrator Courtney Sage said.

“All of our surrounding communities have that tax,” Kownick said. “It levels the playing field.”

In fact, voters across McHenry County also will see a request for a quarter-cent hike in the sales tax to fund mental health services.

[ How much will the sales tax be in your town if voters approve a hike? ]

The home-rule retail tax would exclude essential items such as groceries and pharmaceutical prescriptions, Sage said.

Home rule would mean there is no maximum limit to a local sales tax, which can be increased in 0.25% increments, according to the Illinois Department of Revenue.

With the extra revenue, Cary aims to fund services such as road infrastructure maintenance, plowing, wastewater treatment, community events, public safety and improvements to Cary Lake at Rotary Park.

Erickson argued that the village could fund infrastructure improvements through a non-home-rule sales tax, which is something the village can propose on a future ballot if home rule does not pass.

“There are a ton of items in grocery stores that are subject to the current 7% sales tax rate in Cary,” Erickson said. “When residents visit the local coffee shop or restaurant, they will pay more.”

Kownick argued that the added 1% sales tax would be “almost a wash” if the state ends up removing the 1% grocery tax that usually funds local municipalities, as Gov. JB Pritzker has proposed.

Cary could lose about $400,000 from its $10 million general fund budget if that tax is removed, Kownick said.

The Village Board also passed an ordinance requiring the village to limit any property tax levy increases to what is allowed under the Property Tax Extension Limitation law, known as the tax cap. That law caps yearly levy increases to the rate of inflation or 5%, whichever is lower, but home-rule communities are exempt.

Real estate agents, however, argue that home rule can affect homeowners in other ways with increased fees, certifications and inspections, Erickson said.

Home-rule status allows a village or city to enact laws that are not bound by the Illinois municipal code. Home-rule status also would allow the village to create rental housing regulations, enter into multiyear contracts, create debt flexibility, designate new revenue streams and adopt other police personnel procedures that differ from state statutes.

Any ordinances made possible by home-rule status would need to be passed by the Village Board after a chance for public comment, Sage said.

All the new abilities that home rule would give the board worry some residents, such as Christopher Aumiller.

“It’s such a broadband power,” he said. “Cary is a small and cute community, and I’d like it to stay that way. We don’t need this.”

Home-rule status automatically applies to municipalities with populations of more than 25,000. Cary’s population is less than 18,000, and village staff expects the population to remain “stabilized” at that number through 2050.

Many surrounding McHenry County municipalities have home-rule status, including Algonquin, Lake in the Hills, Crystal Lake and McHenry. Woodstock and Huntley reached home-rule status after each conducted a special census in 2016.

Home rule became an issue late last year and into early 2024 when some busloads of migrants were dropped off in the suburbs. That prompted communities including Crystal Lake, McHenry and Woodstock to pass ordinances to discourage busing companies from abandoning migrants in the suburbs by imposing fines.

Home-rule communities had the ability to set much larger fines than other municipalities.

Ultimately, the decision in Cary is up to local voters.

“I cannot tell you how to vote,” Kownick said. “I can only tell you the facts and why it is beneficial.”