Cissy from Vernon Hills asked:
"In your next newsletter, can you talk about the property tax issue, at a time when our house values are decreasing?"
A Summary on the Current State of Property Taxes
As you know, property taxes are the primary revenue source for local school, park and library districts - among other units of government. While home values have been falling, tax bills have not decreased.
Assessed values are different from current market values of properties. State law requires local assessors determine values based on sales from the last three years, so it's not a reflection of today's real estate market.
I support changing state law to a 1 or 2 year timeframe. This would provide a fairer balance between assessed value and property tax bills.
What Happens to Your Check Once You Send it in?
It is important for you to know that while property tax payments are made to the county, 93% of those revenues are distributed to other local taxing bodies.
In fact, we operate the entire county government on 7% of your property tax bill including roads, the health department, courts, the jail and a number of other vital services.
What is the County Doing to Tighten It's Belt?
While many governments are in the red, Lake County cut its budget by $6 million. We did it by cutting spending in every department, not filling vacant positions, re-negotiating vendor contracts, reducing staffing levels in areas with reduced workloads and passed a budget with a zero percent wage increase for our employees - myself included.
Additionally, the county works hard to secure non-property tax revenue for operations including grants, intergovernmental agreements and by investing wisely. Only 29% of our budget is based on property taxes.
What You Can Do!
Again, only 7% of your property tax bill goes to the county.
So, for a house with a value of $250 thousand, only $346 of the property tax bill goes to county government. The rest is distributed to more than 200 other taxing districts in the area, with schools getting the biggest piece. Each government body sets its own tax rate, its own budget and holds budget hearings. Taxpayers have an opportunity to provide input at these hearings.
Remember, if these units of government don't fund it in their budgets, they don't levy it and you don't pay for it.
Applying for Tax Relief
Save money by filing for homestead exemptions. You may be eligible for one or more of these exemptions. Some are automatically applied and you must apply for others.
Learn more.
Dear Friend, 