McHenry County board debates 2026 draft budget and whether to use a levy "look‑back" to raise property tax base

McHenry County Board members debated the draft fiscal 2026 budget during the Committee of the Whole meeting on Oct. 16, focusing on a proposed levy “look‑back” that would raise the county’s levy base to capture previously unclaimed levy capacity.

Chairman Bueller said the draft budget would be put on 30‑day review before the board votes on it at the Nov. 18 meeting. "At that meeting, we will be putting the draft budget for the 2026 fiscal year on 30 day review," he said.

The discussion centered on several competing approaches: adopt only the allowable increases for new growth and the consumer‑price index (CPI), or use a look‑back to set the levy base at about $73.8 million and then abate a portion of it. Finance staff described the math: last year’s levy was about $65 million; with CPI (2.9 percent) and new growth it would reach roughly $67.7 million, while the look‑back raises the base to about $73.8 million with a proposed abatement of about…