The City Council will hold a public hearing next month on a proposal to increase the sales tax in Woodstock. The hearing will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 1, in the council chambers at Woodstock City Hall, 121 W. Calhoun St. When the proposal first was floated this spring, city officials discussed enacting […]
As Woodstock officials weigh whether to increase the city’s sales tax rate, local entrepreneurs are divided over how a hike would impact their businesses. A proposal to raise the sales tax by one percentage point means Woodstock shoppers would pay 8 percent on general merchandise, the joint-highest rate in McHenry County, according to data from […]
Candidates for Woodstock mayor and City Council disagree on whether the city should raise its sales tax rate. The proposal to add a home-rule sales tax in Woodstock was a key issue at a candidate forum March 23 at the Woodstock Public Library. Three people are running for mayor in the April 4 election: incumbent […]
The city of Woodstock will have slightly lower budgeted expenditures and slightly higher revenues in the next fiscal year if the City Council approves the budget presented to them March 21. In all, the proposed budget calls for the city to spend $32.04 million in the 2017-18 fiscal year, which begins May 1. In 2016-17, […]
Woodstock shoppers might pay more in sales tax in exchange for a property tax cut. The Woodstock City Council voted unanimously March 7 to reduce the city’s property tax levy 10 percent, a move that will lower the tax bill on a $150,000 house by about $94 and cut the city’s revenues by $924,000. A […]
Larry Lough is editor of The Independent and reports local news.
Janet Dovidio has been a freelance correspondent for The Independent for eight years.
Susan W. Murray wrote for The Independent, covering various beats, from 2005 to 2008.
Tricia Carzoli is a freelance writer and photographer that on community news.
