Huntley School District 158 raises its property tax levy

The Huntley Community School District 158 board has voted to raise its property tax levy.

The board voted in December to enact a 3.4% increase, the maximum allowed for the yearly levy under the state’s tax cap law, which is tied to inflation. But the school board also voted to abate $110,000 in property taxes. Between that and a decrease in district debt, the net increase in the levy ends up at 2%, according to district documents.

The total levy is slightly less than $86 million, or about $95 million with bond and interest included, according to district documents. The impact of a 3.4% levy increase on a home worth $300,000 is about an additional $97. It’s about $127 on a home worth $400,000, District 158 Chief Financial Officer Mark Altmayer said during Thursday’s levy hearing.

However, district documents point out: “Taxpayers should be aware that individual bills may go up or down based on individual assessments as determined by the township assessor, and/or fluctuations of apportionment between Kane and McHenry counties.”

The school board didn’t comment on the levy before passing it by a 6-0 vote in December. Board member Anthony Quagliano was absent.

The school board last year voted to take the maximum increase, 5%. Some of the board members had expressed support for lowering taxes while campaigning. The school board also approved a new contract for the teachers union last year, and some of the board members said the contract required them to max out the levy.

This year’s levy vote comes several months before the April 1 elections; five of the seven board seats are up for grabs. Eight candidates have filed for the four seats that expire this spring, and two candidates filed for a two-year term.

Seats held by Sean Cratty, Quagliano, Paul Troy and Michael Thompson are up for election this year, but only Cratty and Troy have filed to run again.

In addition to Cratty and Troy, Richard Bobby, Corine Burns, Andrew Martin, Jim Hollich, Cassie Khurana and Melissa M. Maiorino filed to run for the school board. Maiorino previously served on the school board, but lost reelection in 2023.

Following the resignation of former board member Gina Galligar in September 2023, nine people, including Bobby, applied for the seat. In a November 2023 meeting to appoint Galligar’s successor, Thompson nominated Bobby for the seat, but a tie vote meant Bobby wasn’t appointed. Board member Dana Wiley was appointed to fill the seat, and is running to keep it. She faces Andrew Fekete, who unsuccessfully ran for the board in 2023.