For the most part, voters were in giving mood in Lake Co.

Lake County voters were in a giving mood when it came to referendum questions on Tuesday's ballot.

Voters approved six referendums dealing with tax increases and building bonds, rejected three questions and one question remained undecided Tuesday, according to unofficial vote totals.

Results came in later than expected due to problems with telephone connections at the Lake County Government Center.

Here's how Lake County voted:

Big Hollow District 38

Residents in Big Hollow District 38 passed a referendum that would reduce classes sizes.

With early ballot and absentee totals and all 13 precincts reporting, the question received 1,763 "yes" votes and 1,658 "no" votes.

It raises tax rates by 54 cents per $100 equalized assessed valuation for the purpose of boosting the district with a $10 million bond for the working cash fund.

Phil Carter, the head of the Big Hollow referendum committee, said he was extremely excited by the unofficial results.

"It's going to make a big impact on the education of the kids," he said.

Carter said he believed the reason the referendum passed is because supporters didn't leave any stones unturned.

"We spent a lot of time going to the community and expressing the need," he said. "We made over 5,000 calls, and we visited over 4,000 homes. We had a team of 50 dedicated people who went out and presented the information right to the community and they accepted it."

Mundelein District 75

Voters in Mundelein Elementary District 75 overwhelmingly approved two referendum questions asking for nearly $10 million in bonds to finance repairs and improvements.

The requests were for $6.6 million to fix leaky roofs and a myriad of other projects, and $3.3 million to install air conditioning.

With early voting and absentee ballot totals and all 15 precincts reporting, the measures received 4,638 "yes" votes and 2,483 "no" votes.

"We are very grateful to the community for coming out and supporting our kids," said Charmela Anderson, co-chair of Citizens in Support of District 75 Schools. "I wouldn't say I was surprised, but I was holding my breath."

Anderson said voters strongly supported both measures, realizing it would be more cost efficient to do school repairs and install air conditioning at the same time.

School board president Wells Frice said taxpayers felt the district had been judicious with its funds and saw the need for the repairs. Despite the approval of the bonds, property tax bills will still drop because other debts are being retired.

"It will make the continuing operation of the schools much easier," he said.

Wauconda Park District

Wauconda Park District voters rejected a referendum request seeking $12 million in park bonds.

With early ballot and absentee totals and all 10 precincts reporting, the question received 1,099 "yes" votes and 1,459 "no" votes.

The money would have been used to build an outdoor pool and expand the current facility on Main Street. In 2000, a previous bid failed by just 80 votes.

If the referendum request was passed, the tax rate would have increased by about 17 cents per $100 of equalized assessed valuation. The resulting bond would have cost the owner of a $265,000 home about $142 per year.

Fox Lake Library:

Voters in Fox Lake Library District approved nearly $15 million in building bonds for a new library.

With early ballots and absentee totals, all 20 precincts in Lake County and 1 precinct in McHenry County reporting, the question received 3,059 "yes" votes and 2,619 "no" votes.

The owner of a $250,000 home will pay an additional $94 annually.

The proposed two-story, 41,000-square-foot building would be more than double the size of the current library at 255 E. Grand Ave., Fox Lake.

The new building will include features such as a large meeting room, a cyber cafe with wireless Internet access, a children's activity center, a young adult area, quiet reading rooms and an outdoor story garden.

Once library operations are moved into the new building, the old library building would be demolished.

The library district serves a population of 18,533, per the 2000 census. That includes much of Grant Township, portions of Antioch and Burton townships, and Ingleside, Fox Lake, Lakemoor, McHenry, parts of Round Lake, and Spring Grove.

Antioch Fire District:

Antioch Township voters rejected a tax rate increase proposal by the fire protection district that would have provided residents with around-the-clock fire coverage.

With early ballot and absentee totals and all 16 precincts reporting, the question received 1,150 "yes" votes and 1,384 "no" votes.

The district asked voters to more than double the tax rate from 19.8 cents per $100,000 of equalized value to 40 cents to provide the staffing in downtown Antioch and one of the substations.

If approved, the owner of a $200,000 home would have paid an extra $80 the first year.

Village of Hainesville:

Hainesville voters opposed the village providing pension coverage for village employees under the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund.

With early ballot and absentee totals and both 2 precincts reporting, the question received 133 "yes" votes and 452 "no" votes.

Voters were asked if the village should commit to the IMRF for two full-time employees and four part-timers.

Ela Township:

Ela Township asked residents to allow the township authority to negotiate a contract on residents' behalf for garbage collection services in unincorporated areas.

Due to a filing mix-up, Ela Township voters received two ballots to fill out Tuesday.

The referendum question about garbage collection in unincorporated areas was left off the optical scan ballot. Instead, township voters received a special pink ballot containing the question.

Those ballots will be placed in a cardboard ballot box and hand-counted. The results will not be known until the write-in candidate results are tallied and posted.

The unincorporated residents rallied to get the question on the ballot because they were paying too much for their garbage to be hauled. They also don't get leaf pickup or recyclable bins.

If the question is approved, it would not raise taxes for any township residents.

Unincorporated residents would be billed individually by the chosen agency for services such as collection, disposal, composting or recycling of garbage, refuse and ashes within unincorporated areas.

Grant High School

Grant Community High School residents approved a $38.5 million building proposal that wouldn't result in higher taxes.

With early ballot and absentee totals and all 29 precincts reporting, the question received 4,891 "yes" votes and 3,126 "no" votes.

Kim Schnoor of Grant Citizens Helping Students said her group visited several groups and used promotions such as placements at a local cafe to promote a "yes" vote.

She said proponents didn't take anything for granted, even when voters beforehand indicated support because a tax hike wasn't sought on the ballot.

"We're thrilled," Schnoor said. "A lot of credit goes out to the 100-plus volunteers and the community."

The tax rate will remain at $2.053 per $100 equalized assessed value of a home to provide money for the construction.

Grant would pursue an expansion to accommodate 2,300 students. About 111,400 square feet of new space would include 21 classrooms, an activity center/field house, art studios and science laboratories.

Construction would be in two phases. The activity center/field house, with seating for 2,500, is targeted for the 2009-10 academic year. Physical education classes would be in the new building Monday through Friday, as well as accommodating team sports and community events.

Officials said the 1,750-capacity high school now serves 1,745 students, and that enrollment is projected to reach 2,300 by 2014.

Grant would repay the $38.5 million over 13 years, not the standard 20 years, officials said.

If the ballot request had been rejected, an owner of a $200,000 home would have seen a roughly $132 decrease in the annual tax bill from Grant. The tax rate would have dropped to about $1.85 per $100 equalized assessed valuation.

Village of Volo

Volo residents voted to give the village home rule powers as a precursor to the creation of a new local sales tax.

With early ballot and absentee totals and all 4 precincts reporting, the question received 145 "yes" votes and 135 "no" votes.

It gives the village board the power to increase sales tax in town by a percentage point. It would allow the village to raise money for new turn lanes, traffic lights and other transportation projects.

Other projects, such as the extension of water and sewer lines, also could be funded by the proposed tax. Such improvements will be needed as more residents, businesses and shoppers come to Volo, officials have said.

The special tax would generate an extra $600,000 in revenue annually.