Lake in the Hills agrees to slight increase in property tax levy

After approving its new tax levy last week, some Lake in the Hills residents won’t see the village’s portion of their tax bill change, officials said.

A resident who owns a $200,000 home will see the village’s portion of their tax bill remain at $396, Finance Director Peter Stefan said. That average bill is the same as last year and assumes the home’s value rises at a same rate as the overall assessed value of property in the village.

On average, the city’s total assessed value rose by 7.3% from last year, according to village documents.

The Lake in the Hills Village Board approved a property tax levy of about $5.5 million, a 0.3% increase from last year, representing a little less than $17,000 in a total increase, village material shows.

Many municipalities across Illinois, including Lake in the Hills, are capped in how much they can increase their property tax levy by each year to the rate of inflation or 5%, whichever is lower, plus new construction added to the tax rolls.

The Village Board opted to forgo the inflationary increase for the 13th straight year but will take money tied to new construction in town, according to the city documents.

This is the second year in a row the village has taken an increase tied to new growth, according to village material.

The item was approved at meetings in November and December with little comment from the Village Board. The final approval came last week, ahead of the deadline to submit it to the McHenry County Clerk’s Office.

Property taxes fund about 24% of the village’s general fund, according to village material. The general fund for the upcoming fiscal year is expected to take in $22.6 million in revenue.

The final tax rate, which will be determined by the McHenry County Clerk’s Office, is expected to decrease by more than 6% as a result of the new levy, according to village material. Since 1991, the village’s tax rate is expected to have decreased by more than 34%.