Incentive Programs
City of McHenry Revolving Loan Fund
The Revolving Loan Program can be used to assist, in the form of a low interest loan, businesses within the City of McHenry. The funds can be used for start-up costs, expansion or updating a business. There is a formal application process which is reviewed by the Mayor and City Council. Detailed financial information is required. The primary requirement, other than the application and financial review by an independent lending agency, is job creation. After a loan is issued and once the principal and interest are repaid to the City they are filtered back into the program.
McHenry County Revolving Loan Fund
This fund is an economic development program designed to support business growth and job creation within McHenry County. It is intended to provide an affordable source of financing to businesses located or to be located in McHenry County that can be used in conjunction with or in place of traditional commercial or SBA loans. The program is not intended to compete with commercial financing options but rather offer a secondary financing source to help defer lending risk or provide an alternative source of financing for higher risk businesses. Any new or expanding business located in or relocating to McHenry County and in good standing with the State of Illinois is eligible to apply for this low-cost loan. Applications are available on the County’s website or on the McHenry County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) website.
Underutilized Property Tax Abatement and Incentive Program
The purpose of the Underutilized Property Tax Abatement and Incentive Program is to encourage reinvestment in existing improved vacant or underutilized properties through a property tax abatement program instituted through multiple taxing bodies. Over time assessed valuations of vacant or underutilized properties decrease or remain stagnant hindering tax growth for all applicable governmental bodies, and the intent of this program through intergovernmental cooperation is to abate some portion of property tax increase over some agreed-upon time period following property redevelopment and/or reoccupation of a previously-vacant building. City sales tax rebates can also be utilized in conjunction with property tax abatement.
A goal of this program is to be able to effectively market specific properties to potential investors, developers and/or businesses, which at one time contained sales and/property tax producing businesses, were home to job-generating companies but due to various circumstances have since been vacated, become obsolete due to the size of the land, building or a combination thereof.
Vacant Building Incentive Program
In accordance with its current Economic Development Strategy the City of McHenry can authorize a sales tax rebate as an incentive and means of encouraging the development, expansion, or redevelopment of a property by a commercial sales tax producing business. The Vacant Building Incentive Program is an extension of other existing City incentive programs, focusing on property tax abatement for qualified entities, which may be utilized for properties with vacant buildings. A goal of this program is to be able to effectively market specific properties to potential investors, developers and/or businesses.
West Route 120 Corridor Enhancement Initiative
The purpose of the West Route 120 Corridor Enhancement Initiative is to assist in revitalizing West Illinois Route 120, specifically between Meadow Lane on the east and Ringwood Road on the west. This area has not seen considerable economic investment for some time due to widening of Route 120 in 2004, property and building obsolescence, dilapidated structures, incompatible land use and lack of community planning. Currently lack of rooftops/housing units within the immediate vicinity also challenges redevelopment, as well as development of raw land. In order to drive investment and redevelopment along this section of Route 120, some type of economic incentive program is required.
This program considers each incentive application individually and holistically, on a more regional total fiscal impact basis. The information required in the application would not be universally applicable but more detailed information submitted provides staff the ability to look at the total economic development impact of the project. This includes additional sales and property taxes, job generation, new wealth creation, as well as recycled wealth