McHenry Times

Village of Lake in the Hills Board of Trustees met Aug. 28

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 7:30 pm.

Roll call was answered by Trustees Harlfinger, Dustin, Huckins, Bojarski and President Bogdanowski.

Trustee Murphy was not present.

Motion to allow Trustee Anderson to attend telephonically was made by Trustee Bojarski and seconded by Trustee Huckins. On roll call vote, Trustees Bojarski, Huckins, Dustin, and Harlfinger voted Aye. No Nays. Motion carried.

Also present were Village Administrator Shannon Andrews, Assistant Village Administrator Trevor Bosack, Chief of Police Matt Mannino, Finance Director Pete Stefan, Public Works Director Ryan McDillon, Community Development Director John Svalenka, Parks and Recreation Director Randy Splitt, Village Attorney Brandy Quance, and Village Clerk Shannon DuBeau.

The Pledge of Allegiance was led by McHenry County Council of Governments Executive Director Chalen Daigle.

Public Comment

Yvonne Borowski addressed the Board in opposition to the proposed grocery tax. Ms. Borowski stated that the Village is taxing the people but not reducing cost in the Village. Administrator Andrews explained that the Village has held a flat tax levy for 15 years, creating dependence on current revenues. In that light, this is not a new tax but the restoration of funds that the Village has become dependent on.

Additionally, Ms. Borowski urged the Village to challenge the State constitutional requirement for municipal bills to be paid every 30 days.

Consent Agenda

This portion of the agenda contains several items that will be acted upon in one Motion unless any Trustee wishes to remove an item. For members of the public, copies of the agenda are available at the entryway.

A. Motion to accept and place on file the minutes of the August 11, 2025 Ad Hoc Strategic Planning Meeting.

B. Motion to accept and place on file the minutes of the August 12, 2025 Ad Hoc Strategic Planning Meeting.

C. Motion to accept and place on file the minutes of the August 14, 2025 Board of Trustees meeting.

D. Motion to approve the August 29, 2025 Schedule of Bills, total of all funds in the amount of $552,264.17.

E. Motion to approve the July 2025 Manual Bills, total of all funds in the amount of $17,443,247.32.

Trustee Dustin made a motion to remove item E.

Motion to approve the Consent Agenda items A-D was made by Trustee Harlfinger and seconded by Trustee Huckins. On roll call vote, Trustees Bojarski, Anderson, Harlfinger, Dustin, Huckins voted Aye. No Nays. Motion carried.

Items for Discussion and Consideration

The Board may combine multiple items in the same motion. A trustee may at any time request that the combined action be voted upon in separate motions.

Finance

A. Request to Approve an Ordinance Amending Chapter 34, Occupation and Other Taxes, of the Lake in the Hills Municipal Code and Implementing a Municipal Grocery Retailers’ Occupation Tax and a Municipal Grocery Service Occupation Tax

Summarized by Finance Director Pete Stefan

In 2024, the State of Illinois passed legislation (Public Act 103-0781) that will eliminate the statewide grocery tax that has been in existence for decades effective January 1, 2026. Unless a municipality adopts an ordinance implementing a locally imposed grocery sales tax, they will experience a reduction in revenue ranging from nominal to drastic depending on the mix of retail stores located within their corporate boundaries. While the elimination of the statewide grocery tax does not affect the state’s budget in any way, the budgets of the majority of the 1,298 municipalities in the state are impacted to the extent of their reliance on the grocery tax to fund operations and/or capital projects.

Since there is no current reporting mechanism for the state to provide specific data on sales taxes generated by the sale of groceries, estimates need to be made to ascertain the impact on each municipality. In 2024, the Village collected a total of $7,659,200 in sales tax revenue - $4,625,600 in municipal sales tax plus $3,033,600 in home rule sales tax. The differential of $1,592,000 includes an estimated $121,000 from the sale of tangible personal property that must by titled or registered by an agency of state government (i.e., vehicles, watercraft, aircraft, etc.), plus an estimated $271,000 from the sale of drugs and medical appliances which is not being eliminated. The remaining $1,200,000 is estimated to be the sales tax generated from the sale of groceries.

Based on the FY24 budget, the estimated revenue loss of $1.2 million represents a 15.7% reduction in total sales tax revenue or a 5.2% reduction in total General Fund revenues. A revenue reduction of that magnitude would hamper the Village’s ability to fund its capital improvement program as transfers of General Fund surpluses have been used in recent years to supplement the Capital Improvement Fund and the Police Facility Fund. A permanent loss of $1.2 million in sales tax revenue would also be expected to impact operations in future years.

Realizing the significant impact on municipal budgets that eliminating the statewide grocery tax would have, the legislation adopted by the state allows municipalities to implement a local grocery tax to replace the statewide grocery tax. The local grocery tax would not be a new tax but would instead replace the expiring statewide tax on a dollar-for-dollar basis. In order to ensure there is no gap in sales tax revenue receipts, the local grocery tax ordinance must be adopted and filed with the Illinois Department of Revenue by October 1, 2025, to become effective January 1, 2026.

Financial Impact

The estimated sales tax revenue generated by grocery sales in 2024 was $1.2 million, which is a 5.2% reduction in total General Fund revenues. Future capital improvement projects and General Fund operations would need to be cut or deferred as the transfer of General Fund surpluses has subsidized capital projects for several years.

Adopting a local grocery tax ordinance would not be a new tax but would instead be a seamless transition from the statewide grocery tax that is currently in place but expiring on January 1, 2026, with a local grocery tax that would become effective on the same date resulting in no increased taxes to residents.

Motion

Motion to approve an Ordinance Amending Chapter 34, Occupation and Other Taxes, of the Lake in the Hills Municipal Code and implementing a Municipal Grocery Retailers’ Occupation Tax and a Municipal Grocery Service occupation tax was made by Trustee Huckins and seconded by Trustee Harlfinger. On roll call vote, Trustees Anderson, Dustin, Bojarski, Huckins, and Harlfinger voted Aye. No Nays. Motion carried.

Community Development

B. Request to Approve an Ordinance Granting a Variation to Allow a Private Swimming Pool in the Front Yard and Side Yard at 205 Thunder Ridge

Summarized by Director of Community Development John Svalenka

The existing single-family detached residence at 205 Thunder Ridge was constructed in 1995 and purchased at that time by Mr. Jason Orth. Mr. and Mrs. Orth would now like to have a 24-foot-diameter-round swimming pool installed on the property to the north and east of the rear wall of the house. However, due to the shape of the lot and the location of the house, the proposed location for the pool is technically within parts of the front yard and the side yard. Per the table of Permitted Accessory Structures in Section 13.5 of the Zoning Code, private swimming pools are only allowed to be located within the rear yard. Therefore, in order to allow the proposed pool, the applicants have requested approval of a variation from Section 13.5 of the Zoning Code.

Village staff reviewed the variation request according to the standards listed in the Zoning Code. In general, staff found that the request meets all three conditions and all six supplemental standards for the granting of a variation.

The Planning & Zoning Commission conducted a public hearing on August 18, 2025 to consider the variation request.

The Commission recommended approval of the request by a vote of 7-0.

Trustee Dustin stated that he would have concerns about decreased property value if he were a neighbor. Mr. Orth addressed the Board, explaining that this portion of his yard has always been used for recreational equipment and listed steps that will be taken to improve the visual appearance surrounding the structure.

Motion

Motion to approve an ordinance granting a variation to allow a private swimming pool in the front yard and side yard at 205 Thunder Ridge was made by Trustee Huckins and seconded by Trustee Harlfinger. On roll call vote, Trustees Bojarski, Huckins, Anderson, and Harlfinger voted Aye. Trustee Dustin voted Nay. Motion carried.

Village Administrator and Department Head Reports

None.

Board of Trustee Reports

None.

Village President Reports

President Bogdanowski reflected on the Strategic Planning meetings and expressed enthusiasm for the plans to be put into motion.

President Bogdanowski proclaimed the first full week of September as Payroll Week in Lake in the Hills, Illinois.

Unfinished Business

E. Motion to approve the July 2025 Manual Bills, total of all funds in the amount of $17,443,247.32 was made by Trustee Dustin and seconded by Trustee Huckins.

Trustee Dustin called attention to the large sum of funds and requested further detail. Director Stefan explained that $14,084,000 of the expense is related to the transfer of bond funds to the Police Facility Fund.

Motion

On roll call vote, Trustees Anderson, Harlfinger, Huckins, Bojarski, and Dustin voted Aye. No Nays. Motion carried.

New Business

None.

Closed Session

Motion to enter into Closed Session to discuss Pending Litigation (5 ILCS 120/2(c)(11) was made by Trustee Huckins and seconded by Trustee Harlfinger. On roll call vote, Trustees Anderson, Bojarski, Huckins, Dustin, and Harlfinger voted Aye. No Nays. Motion Carried.

Return from Closed Session

Roll call was answered by Trustees Huckins, Harlfinger, Dustin, Bojarski, Anderson, and President Bogdanowski.

Adjournment

A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Trustee Huckins and seconded by Trustee Bojarski. All in favor by voice vote.

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting of the Lake in the Hills Board of Trustees was adjourned at 7:52 pm.

https://www.lith.org/home/showpublisheddocument/5875/638932653327700000