Huntley didn't qualify for home rule after all

After months spent conducting a special census, submitting the count to the state and passing ordinances to give Huntley greater regulatory and taxing powers, the village recently learned much of that effort was in vain.

The Illinois Secretary of State has informed the village that Huntley's population did not exceed 25,000 after its partial census, the threshold that would have allowed the village to earn home rule status and, if officials chose to, impose new taxes and regulations.

But the village board, acting on an earlier count approved by the state's Department of Revenue, had already voted to approve the status, which would have given Huntley the increased powers.

Now that the Secretary of State says the village's population is only about 23,220, those votes are invalid - as is Huntley's home rule standing.

The biggest immediate impact the reduced population count has is on Huntley's 2010 budget, which the board will look at Thursday. The population count determines how much money the state distributes to the village in various shared taxes.

"We had to go back and make some pretty significant cuts to the budget to offset what we thought would be there," Village Manager Dave Johnson said.

The village had to reduce 2010 expenditures by about $250,000 because of the reduced population count, Johnson said. The largest reduction, about $123,000, deferred planned equipment replacement for village departments.

Village officials have said they pursued home rule to govern Huntley more effectively by taking over responsibilities that would otherwise fall in the county's purview.

"I'm disappointed in that it's going to delay our ability to provide more timely services to the village," Trustee Harry Leopold said. "We had no intention of raising taxes."

With few new homes being built in Huntley, Johnson said it's unlikely Huntley will pass the 25,000 mark even after the 2010 census, meaning the village may have to wait awhile to revisit home rule.