McHenry County Board OKs $246.8M Balanced Budget For 2024

WOODSTOCK, IL — The McHenry County Board has approved a $246.8 million budget and the $73.8 million levy as part of a balanced budget for fiscal year 2024 and that goes into effect on Dec. 1, the board approved on Tuesday.

Both the budget for the upcoming year and the levy were approved by the board following a 30-day public review period, county officials announced on Wednesday.

The upcoming fiscal year's levy includes a modest 1.95 percent increase based on the Consumer Price Index, plus $825,000 in new growth, which is exempt from the tax cap law, county officials said in a news release. The increase is based on the CPI being less than half of the 5 percent that local taxing bodies are allowed under the tax cap.

In addition to the ongoing impact of inflation fuel and supply costs and a highly competitive labor market, county government faces new and expensive unfunded mandates imposed by the General Assembly; the costs of the SAFE-T Act and the related Pre-Trial Fairness Act alone cost McHenry County more than $1.9 million in additional expenses and lost revenue, the county's news release said.

McHenry County accounts for just under 8 percent of a property owner’s tax bill.

Local residents can review the 2024 budget, as well as previous years’ budgets, by clicking here.
Taxpayers also can visit the county’s Financial Dashboard, an online tool for reviewing revenues and expenses, both overall and year-to-date, since the 2017 fiscal year; it can be found by clicking here.