The Village of Lake in the Hills is making efforts to increase government transparency to the public and has assembled the below information in accordance with The Illinois Policy Institute's 10 point Government Transparency Checklist. 

1. Elected and Administrative Officials

Elected officials and village staff can be reached by phone or email. To view a listing of contact information, please visit the links below:

• Elected Officials
• Village Staff

2. Meeting Information

All public meeting agendas are posted at least 48 hours in advance of the date and time the meeting is scheduled to take place. A full listing of the current year's meetings is available on our Agendas/Minutes page. All packet documentation is included in full with the public meeting agendas.

To view archived agendas and minutes, click here to visit the Village's Public Document Portal.

3. Public Records (FOIA)

All Freedom of Information requests can be submitted online through JustFOIA. The Village shall respond to any Request filed pursuant to Section II of these FOIA Rules within five (5) Business Days after such Request is received by the Freedom of Information Officer. If the request is for commercial purposes, the Village shall respond within 21 Business Days after receipt. Learn more about records requests on our public records request page. 

 4. Budgets

The annual budget serves as a policy document, as an operations guide, as a financial plan, and as a communications device. Several years of budget documents are included below. The creation of the annual budget process begins in June and runs through December. It includes a budget workshop that is open to the public in November and a budget hearing in December each year. To learn more about the annual budget, please contact the Finance Department at 847-960-7400.

To view the Budget documents, click here to visit the Village's Public Document Portal.

5. Audits

The Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports (ACFR) of the Village of Lake in the Hills, Illinois are completed each year as mandated by both local ordinances and state statutes. These ordinances and statutes require the Village to issue annually a report on its financial position and activity presented in conformance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP) and audited in accordance with general accepted auditing standards (GAAS) by an independent firm of certified public accountants. This report consists of management’s representations concerning the finances of the Village of Lake in the Hills. 

The Village’s financial statements have been audited by Sikich LLP, a firm of licensed certified public accountants. The goal of the independent audit is to provide reasonable assurance that the financial statements of the Village of Lake in the Hills are free of material misstatement. The independent audit involves examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements; assessing the accounting principles used and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation.  

To view the following Audit documents, click here to visit the Village's Public Document Portal.

• Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR)
• Management Letters
• Popular Annual Finance Report
• Single Audit Reports

6. Expenditures

To view the following Expenditure documents, click here to visit the Village's Public Document Portal.

• Annual Treasurer's Reports 
• Manual Bills
• Schedule of Bills

7. Salaries and Benefits

To view the following Salaries and Benefits documents, click here to visit the Village's Public Document Portal.

• Budgeted Total Compensation Package Reports
• Employee Health Insurance Benefits

IMRF Employer Cost and Participation Information

Per Public Act 101-504, amending the Illinois Pension Code (40 ILCS 5/7-135.5), as a participating member in the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF), the Village of Lake in the Hills is required to provide the link below to IMRF's website pertaining to information regarding IMRF's employer cost and participation.

https://www.imrf.org/en/about-imrf/transparency/employer-cost-and-participation-information

8. Contracts

Bids and RFPs
Bids and RFPs can be accessed through our Bid Management System (link below). To view open, closed, awarded, canceled, or postponed bids and RFPs, simply check the category you would like to view and click apply. Each RFP has its own submission instructions and can be viewed in full by creating an account. Creating an account for the Bid management System is free for all users and full instructions can be found below:

• Bids and Requests for Proposals (RFPS)

Board approved agreements and contracts exceeding $25,000:

A searchable database for Village Board approved contracts and agreements is currently in development. In the meantime, please submit a public records request for any contracts that you seek and you will receive a response from the Village within the timeframe defined by the Freedom of Information Act.

Prevailing Wage:
The Prevailing Wage rates for McHenry County, effective September 1, 2017, were approved at the Village Board meeting on June 28, 2018. The rates are available at the link below.

• Prevailing Wage Rates

Union and Employee Contracts:

To view the following Union and Employee contracts, click here to visit the Village's Public Document Portal.

• Employee Contracts
• Metropolitan Alliance of Police Chapter #90
• Metropolitan Alliance of Police Civilian Chapter #168
• Service Employees International Union - Local 73

9. Lobbying

The Village of Lake in the Hills does not directly engage in lobbying. However, various members of the Village staff have paid memberships with professional organizations. These organizations may or may not engage in lobbying on their own.

• Membership Organizations
• 2017 (actual) to 2022 (budgeted) dues paid to Professional Development Organizations

10. Taxes and Fees

Property Taxes: 
For ten consecutive years, the Village of Lake in the Hills has either reduced or kept its property tax levy flat.  The McHenry County Treasurer is responsible for collecting and remitting the taxes to the Village throughout the year.

[Property Tax Rate Table Coming Soon]

Sales Tax: 8%
A 7% base sales tax is collected on all retail sales within the Village. Each business then files a monthly sales tax return and remits the collected sales taxes to the State. The State then forwards each taxing district’s portion to each district on a monthly basis. The Village’s share of the base sales tax revenue is 1%. The Village’s home rule sales tax rate is 1%. This tax is collected on sales of general merchandise only and is not collected on sales of food, drugs, or tangible personal property that is required to be licensed or registered with the State of Illinois.

Telecommunication Tax: 6%
The Simplified Municipal Telecommunications Tax became effective January 1, 2003. Legislation passed by the State of Illinois combined the utility tax on telecommunications and the infrastructure maintenance fee into one simplified tax. This tax is now administered by the Illinois Department of Revenue in much the same manner as sales taxes are. Telecommunications providers file a monthly tax return and remit the collected taxes to the State. The State then forwards each taxing district’s portion to each district on a monthly basis. The current rate for the Simplified Municipal Telecommunications Tax in the Village is 6%.

Amusement Tax: 5%
Effective January 1, 2017, a 5% amusement tax is collected on all gross receipts within the Village for each amusement event or showing. Gross receipts means all fees or charges received or collected in the form of admission fees or other charges for admission to witness any amusement regardless of whether such fees or charges are characterized as admission fees, membership fees, use charges, rent, rental or service charges. The amusement tax is not applicable to any persons or businesses who generate gross receipts less than $2,000 annually. Additionally, events held by any religious, charitable, labor, fraternal, educational, veteran’s, 501 (c) not-for-profit organizations, municipal, park district, school district, or any unit of local government are exempt from the amusement tax. 

Utility and Use Tax:
Effective January 1, 2018, a utility tax will be collected on electric and a use tax will be collected on gas within the Village. Rates for electrical utilities are based on kilowatt-hours as described in section 34.04.A.1.B.1 of the Municipal Code. The rate for gas use is five cents ($0.05) per therm, as described in section 34.04.A.2.C.1. These existed previously in 2000 and in 2004 and have been reinstated to dedicate revenues generated from these taxes toward the funding of the capital needs of the Village. The tax imposed by these sections shall not apply to school districts or units of local government within the corporate limits of the Village.

Revenue Sources:
The Village generates revenue from a variety of different sources, including certain fees and fines for services. More information on each of these can be found with each department. A five year history of all fund revenues can be found in the most recent budget document.