Is this tax bill right?
By KATE SCHOTT and DANA HERRA
|
| Photo illustration by Stephen Larrick |
It’s a thought that many DeKalb County residents have had since the 2009 tax bills arrived in mailboxes during the past month. Sent May 1, the tax bills reflect the amount of taxes each property owner owes to the taxing bodies in the county.
Yet many have found they owe more taxes this year than last year – even though the value of their house might have decreased during the last year. How can that be?
The Daily Chronicle has spoken with county and township officials who are involved with either assessments or your tax bill in hopes of answering some of your questions.
Individual interviews were conducted with DeKalb Township assessor John Hietikko and Kevin Schnetzler, the Malta, Mayfield, Milan, South Grove and Sycamore township assessor. DeKalb County Chief Assessment Officer Margaret Whitwell and DeKalb County Treasurer Christine Johnson were interviewed together.
Q: Let’s start with the bill itself. Why is there so much information on my tax bill?
CJ: All of the information on the tax bill is required to be on there by law. The tax code, for instance, tells officials the specific taxing bodies each property pays taxes to. For convenience, the prior year’s equalized assessed value and tax rate are on there so you don’t need to dig out last year’s bill.
Q: What is the equalized assessed value?
JH: The equalized assessed value is one-third the fair cash value (often called market value). We look at size, styles and amenities of a property to determine it.
Q: What is the tax rate and a taxing entity/body?
MW: A taxing body is an entity that levies taxes, and includes school districts, municipalities, park and library districts and community colleges. A tax rate is the amount per $100 of assessed value that each taxpayer pays.
For example: If a property is has a net taxable value of $58,835, as in the example above, the owner can divide that by 100 to get 588.35. Multiply that by the tax rate of 8.42244 percent, and you get $4,955.34.
Q: Why are there two lines for some taxing entities, like the county?
CJ: If there is a taxing body that levies for Social Security or pension funds, state law requires that it have its own line on a tax bill.
Q: What is a multiplier?
MW: We want the tax burden to be equal. We want everyone to pay their share. A multiplier is a factor applied to an assessment within a township to bring assessments to one-third of market value.
Q: What is an exemption?
MW: Exemptions are available for property owners and must be applied for. If granted, an exemption allows a certain amount of money to be subtracted from the equalized assessed value of a given property. It lowers the amount of money that owner has to pay in taxes. For more information on exemptions, visit the DeKalb County Chief Assessor’s Office at www.dekalbcounty.org/Assessor/assess.html
Q: How is the tax bill for farm land determined?
MW: It is assessed according to the land’s productivity. It is not related to land value. We get the productivity numbers from the Illinois Department of Revenue. The value for farm buildings, like barns, sheds or silos, are determined based on what they contribute to the productivity of the farm. A farm home and land associated with it is determined according to market value.
Q: According to the Illinois Association of Realtors, the average sale price of a home in DeKalb County dropped more than 22 percent between the first quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009. So why is the fair market value listed on my tax bill so high?
KS: That assessment is dated Jan. 1, 2008, so we’re already looking at a year or more in the past. A lot of times it’s because of the township multiplier. It’s (based on) the average of the last three years of assessed value and the last three years of sales, so we’re looking at 2005, 2006 and 2007. Sales in 2005 were pretty good, because that’s when the market was increasing and property values were increasing. In 2006, it started leveling off halfway through, and in 2007 it started to decline. ... In this case, you’re taking an average from a time when things were increasing and applying it to a year everything is declining. People do get upset about that, and I can’t blame them.
JH: Anything that has happened since Jan. 1, 2008, has not affected property value for this tax bill. The three-year average of sales versus assessments is still one of the biggest culprits in this. It took the values from 2005, 2006 and 2007 to develop the multiplier for 2008. ...Sales versus assessments are done by the Department of Revenue in Springfield. They track all the valid sales in the county against our assessments for those three years to develop the multiplier. This year, they determined we came up low (in DeKalb Township) which is where the 3 percent comes from.
Q: When will the value on the tax bill reflect what’s going on in the market now?
KS: For myself, I can tell you I am looking to reassess some subdivisions this year. I’m still looking at the data, so I can’t say for sure where yet, but I do plan on some reassessments this year.
Q: My assessment stayed the same but I owe more taxes this year. Why?
MW: The equalized assessed value is only one factor that determines how much you pay in taxes. Each residence pays taxes to various taxing bodies, such as school districts, municipalities and libraries. In the example above, for instance, the property owner had a tax rate of 7.94969 last year, and a rate of 8.42244 this year. Even if the equalized assessed value had stayed the same, the owner would have owed more taxes this year because the tax rate went up.
Q: When are my taxes due?
CJ: By June 3. You can pay at the county treasurer’s office in the DeKalb County Administration building, 110 E. Sycamore St. in Sycamore, online at www.dekalbcounty.org/Treasurer/treasurer.html and at most DeKalb County banks. Payments can be made by check and with some credit cards.
Q: I have questions about my assessment. Where can I get more information?
The county chief assessor’s office is on the fourth floor of the DeKalb County Administration Building, 110 East Sycamore St. in Sycamore. They are open from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and can be reached at 815-895-7120.
Q: I have questions about my tax bill. Where can I can get more information?
CJ: Any time you have questions about your tax bill, have your parcel number ready.
The county treasurer’s office is on the fourth floor of the DeKalb County Administration Building, 110 East Sycamore St. in Sycamore. They are open from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and can be reached at 815-895-7112.
