McHenry County, Illinois
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McHenry County is one of 102 counties in Illinois. The county has a population of 320,961.[1] This county is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and is the sixth largest county, in terms of population, in the state of Illinois.
Website evaluation
In 2011 McHenry County earned a Sunny Award for having a perfect website transparency score. The county is also preparing to livestream county meetings.[2]
- Main article: Evaluation of Illinois county websites
This site was most recently evaluated on 2013-03-21.
The good
- Budget
- The most current budget is listed.
- Budgets are archived for 5 years.[3]
- Administrative Officials
- Department heads are listed for each department.[4]
- Contact information for administrative officials is provided including a mailing address, phone number, and personalized email.
- Elected Officials
- Elected officials are listed with a mailing address, phone number and personalized email.[5]
- Meetings
- Meeting minutes are archived for 7 years.
- Meeting agendas are archived for 7 years.[6]
- A meeting calendar is available and names the times and locations of public meetings.
- Audits
- The most recent audit is posted.
- Audits dating back to 2003 are available.[7]
- Contracts
- Bids and RFPs are posted online.
- Approved contract statements are provided for vendors.[8]
- Public Records
- The public information officer is identified and maintained by the FOIA officer position. This person provides a mailing address, phone number and personalized email.
- A public records form is provided.
- A fee schedule for documents is provided.[9]
- Taxes
- Lobbying
- The county discloses it's a member of government sector lobbying associations and membership dues for associations available.
- The county discloses it hires lobbyists and the total amount spent on lobbying.[12]
- Permits and zoning
County Board
The primary function of the County Board is to establish the various budgets of the county funds and adopt ordinances and rules pertaining to the management and business of the county departments.[15]
Lobbying
McHenry County lists their current hired lobbyist.[12]
Federal: The Ferguson Group, LLC
- 2011 - $82,000
- 2010 – $93,000
- 2009 - $93,000
State: Metro Counties of Illinois
- 2010 - $8,164
- 2009 - $8,164
Budget
The McHenry County board of commissioners reduced their 2009 budget by 10.4 percent, however the county did not have to lay off any employees. [16] In 2009 revenues increased 7.1 percent. [17]
http://www.co.mchenry.il.us/departments/countyboard/Pages/Lobbying.aspx Please visit the latest webpage on lobbying information in McHenry County.
Salaries
The Human Resource Department maintains the salary listing of all employees on their department page. http://www.co.mchenry.il.us/departments/hr/pdfDocs/Salary%20Compensation%20Report.pdf
Pensions
Main article: Illinois Public Pensions
The McHenry County website does not include information about the various pension plans it offers to its employees. The website also does not include information about the county's pension liabilities.
According to an activist organization of Illinois municipalities called Pension Fairness for Illinois Communities, the majority of voters from 44 Illinois communities supported a resolution urging the legislature to implement steps to reform public pension systems during the November 2010 election. [18]
Illinois is facing a crisis with its publicly funded pensions. In 2010 state government was responsible for over $130 billion in pension payments, however they only had $46 billion set aside, which leaves an unfunded liability of about $85 billion. [19] Finding a way to fund that $85 billion will be the focus of the 2011 general assembly. The Pew Center for the States reported that as of 2008, Illinois is one of the worst states at contributing to its pension systems. State lawmakers will consider selling $4 billion of bonds to pay the state's annual payment on the five pension programs it runs. [20] In April, the state legislature created a two-tier system for all municipal and state employees—including teachers and state lawmakers—hired after Jan 1, 2011. Police and fire were included in an earlier draft but removed shortly before the vote. For the others, retirement was raised to 67. [21]
External links
- McHenry County official website
- McHenry County Recorder's Website
- McHenry County Tourism Website
- McHenry County on Epodunk
- McHenry Blog, McHenry County’s Web Site Evaluated, Sept. 13, 2010
- [2]
References
- ↑ Census Quick Facts - McHenry County, Illinois
- ↑ Northwest Herald, County Board pursues live-streaming options, Aug. 11, 2011
- ↑ McHenry County, Budgets, Accessed: December 16, 2012
- ↑ McHenry County, Staff Directory, Accessed: December 16, 2012
- ↑ McHenry County, Board Members, Accessed: December 16, 2012
- ↑ McHenry County, Meeting Minutes/Agendas/Calendar, Accessed: December 16, 2012
- ↑ McHenry County, Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, Accessed: December 16, 2012
- ↑ McHenry County, Purchasing, Accessed: December 16, 2012
- ↑ McHenry County, FOIA Requests Form, Fee Schedule, and Contact Information, Accessed: December 16, 2012
- ↑ McHenry County, Tax Rates, Accessed: December 16, 2012
- ↑ McHenry County, Treasurer, Accessed: December 16, 2012
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 McHenry County, Lobbying, Accessed: December 16, 2012
- ↑ McHenry County, Zoning, Accessed: December 16, 2012
- ↑ McHenry County, Planning Permit Info, Accessed: December 16, 2012
- ↑ About the Board
- ↑ 'McHenry County' McHenry County Budget Brief, 2009
- ↑ 'McHenry County', Certified Annual Financial Report, 2009
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Illinois Issues, The Pension Chasm, November 15, 2010
- ↑ State House News, November 4, 2010
- ↑ 'Patch.com' Illinois Senate to Vote on Public Safety Pension Reforms Thursday Morning, Dec. 1, 2010
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