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"I believe it is critical that residents of Lakewood and McHenry County understand that this successful Property Tax Reduction effort is about a much bigger picture than just the village of Lakewood!" Serwatka said.

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"Illinois is circling the drain and McHenry County is leading, almost the entire country, in exorbitant property taxes. And Lakewood nears the top of McHenry County! 

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"I'm a huge believer in the notion that "If it is to be - It must start with me!" That is what this Property Tax Reduction is all about!”

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“This is about Lakewood leading by example!"

 

More than 100 residents attended the December 12th and 18th discussions of this proposed 10% property tax cut for Lakewood.

 

A number of residents spoke publicly in support of the proposed tax cut and a few spoke in opposition to the cut, citing concerns of future funding of village infrastructure, particularly of east side storm water & flood mitigation systems.

Serwatka pointed out that resident comments mirrored results of an electronic survey of Lakewood residents regarding this proposed 10% tax reduction. He explained that as of December 18th, 351 residents had participated in the electronic survey posted on www.LakewoodTaxFighter.com, with 329 residents demonstrating support for the tax cut, while 22 expressed opposition. 

 

"I want to make abundantly clear that, as I have stated many, many times, I entirely share in your [storm water] concerns!" Serwatka told the crowd.

 

“With that said, it is important to understand that we have distinct and separate Enterprise Funds in place that serve to provide for these types of capital expenditures. These include our Impact Fee Fund, our Capital Projects Fund and our Motor Fuel Tax Fund. Capital Expenditure projects such as storm water and sewer systems are NOT the intended purpose of revenues collected for our General Fund via property taxes."

Serwatka informed residents that Illinois Statute specifically requires that, each year, all taxing bodies request specific property tax amounts based on the premise that local governments should only ask for what is needed to finance their operations for that year. 

 

Lakewood’s new Chief Administrative Officer determined that the $1,586,509.00 tax levy being proposed was sufficient to cover village operating expenditures for fiscal year 2018. This levy represented a 10% reduction from the tax levy collected for fiscal year 2017. 

 

Serwatka noted that this entire 10% tax reduction had been made possible through; the restructuring of village administration, eliminating redundancies and creating efficiencies. He emphasized that NO services would be cut or reduced.

"I thank each of the trustees for rolling up their sleeves, digging their noses through all the financials for the last week, and for being bold enough to lead by example." Serwatka stated.

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Learn more about Village President Paul Serwatka’s "Lakewood Tax-Fighter & Better Government Project" efforts at: www.LakewoodTaxFighter.com