McHenry Times

McHenry County issued the following announcement on July 25.

New Online Tool Allows Homeowners to Confirm Receipt

McHenry County homeowners only have one week left to apply for a rebate from the Valley Hi Nursing Home fund surplus, and those who have already done so can now confirm receipt of their application online.

Homeowners have until 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 31, to apply for the rebate, which allows them to recoup just under 30 percent of county government’s share of last year’s property tax bill. As of today, more than 45,000 homeowners have applied for almost $7.9 million of the $15 million allocated for the rebate program by the County Board.

“So many homeowners have applied to get something back from the $40 million surplus that Valley Hi Nursing Home has amassed – the response is amazing,” County Board Chairman Jack Franks, D-Woodstock, said. “But the two-month window to apply closes at the end of business on July 31, and I encourage eligible homeowners to apply right away before time runs out.”

To be eligible for the rebate, homeowners had to have owned and occupied their home on April 16, 2019, taken the homestead exemption, and had to have paid last year’s property tax bill in full. The amount of the rebate will be calculated by a formula based on the amount the homeowner paid in taxes to county government in 2018. About 88,000 properties in McHenry County potentially qualify. For example, a homeowner who last year paid $500 in property taxes to county government would get just under $150 back.

People can apply online from the county website at www.mchenrycountyil.gov, and hard copies of the application are available during regular business hours at the McHenry County Treasurer’s Office, 2100 N. Seminary Ave., Woodstock. The website includes a list of frequently asked questions, and people who have additional questions can email them to VHRebate@mchenrycountyil.gov.

Applicants now can visit the rebate website and click on a searchable list to determine whether their application has been received. There is a delay of a day or two for updates of electronic submissions, and longer for paper and mail-in submissions.

Qualifying homeowners can expect to receive their check in the mail in early October. Unclaimed funds from the rebate will go back to Valley Hi.

The County Board approved the rebate to responsibly reduce a fund surplus of about $40 million, which is enough to cover almost four years of Valley Hi’s operations. The rebate will not harm Valley Hi, and the County Board has begun studying expanding its services with the addition of more beds and a dementia wing.

Original source can be found here.