The Village of Huntley is currently having a special census, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, to determine if the population has reached a threshold for home-rule status.

A special census, authorized by the Village of Huntley, is being conducted with the end goal of attaining an automatic state of Illinois home-rule designation based on exceeding the 25,000-person resident threshold for the municipality. The status will permit Huntley to receive a larger portion of state-shared funds, in addition to initiating civic programs exclusive of state controls.

Initiated Jan. 9, the canvassing is expected to continue through mid-February, with a certification announcement on the newly obtained demographic data being forwarded from the Regional director of the Oak Brook-based U.S. Census Bureau, during the following month. Enumerators are currently working their way through areas not established in the quadrennial census of 2010.

“Having more control over municipal programs and initiatives is a by-product to achieving a home-rule status,” said Assistant Village Manager Lisa Armour. “A larger share of population-based revenue sources, from the state, becomes available. They include motor fuel tax allotments, use taxes, and mutual portions of the income tax.

“Once we meet the threshold, there is an ability to manage, to implement … those are conversations that are still to be had by the board, with the automatic access,” she said.

By law, Illinois municipalities with populations of 25,000 or more, receive a home-rule status that creates a local taxing authority and removes ties to state-mandated limitations regarding additional assessments. This includes various retailer’s occupation (sales) taxes, utilities, and property sales. It also allows an exemption on the annual levy amount above the property tax cap of 5 percent, or the fixed rate of inflation.

Oversight for daily operations involving the census have been undertaken by Julie Langos, the village’s accounting supervisor, and $52,497 was set aside for the effort in the fiscal year 2015 budget. Her experience with the 2010 census is being applied as a template for the current project, which then calculated the village’s population at 24, 291.

“We give the census bureau information on the areas that we want to collect data from, and they respond with their needs such as office space and the number of enumerators required for the canvassing sites,” said Langos. “It’s estimated to advance for about three to four weeks, but there’s no set timetable, per se.

“We’re expecting that roughly one month following the close of fieldwork, village officials will receive the updated numbers, from the certified federal count,” she said.

Those uncounted sites include the new residential developments of Tallamore, Cider Grove, Covington Lakes, Heritage, Lions Chase, and specific sections of the Del Webb Sun City community. Last October, Huntley Village Manager David Johnson had indicated that the additional state monies, from the population count of 26,000 or more, could reach a $231,740 tab annually.

It was also noted that the full board elected to maintain its annual tax levy amount, imposed on the village, at $3.8 million, during its Nov. 19 regular session. The amount has not risen since 2010, coinciding with the previous quadrennial census, and reflected an adjustment hold for assessments fluctuating between its boundary counties of Kane and McHenry.

The general fund operating budget for fiscal year 2015, running Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, was set at $10.4 million and is balanced with anticipated expenditures. The levy amount was held steady, in part due to economic conditions and not to present an additional burden to the municipality’s residents.

Huntley is situated in both Rutland and Grafton townships, as well as McHenry and Kane counties. The territorial opposition also brings its own equalized assessment valuations for the apportionment levy rate.

Jennifer Chernak, the villages’ director of finance and human resources, had said the village’s policy was to approve a balanced budget on direction from its full board to hold the levy amount, as an adjustment for severe levy fluctuations in past years.

“Between the two counties, one year it would be up, and the next, it would be reversed,” she said.

The village had no control over property assessments and valuations, administered by township assessors, she also said, as the rates came from the respective counties and were subject to the various taxing bodies.

“It’s true that the board will have discussions, and that home-rule will mean authority,” said Armour. “Huntley has experienced tremendous growth since the 2010 quadrennial census. Those potential ‘home-rule’ conversations are still further ahead.”

— Huntley special census seeks home rule —