By Rebecca Sponsler
Advocate News Staff
Editors Note: Last Tuesday’s edition of the Advocate contained an article concerning the tax assessments which were recently sent out. In that edition of the paper we failed to include any official comments from the assessor’s office regarding the issue. We hope that today’s issue will fully explain the issues addressed in last Tuesday’s edition of the Advocate from the only official source on the matter. We regret the wrong due date for the property tax assessment appeals and hope today’s issue will clear up any misunderstandings which might have resulted from the original story.
According to Georgia Shank, Bond Bounty Supervisor or Assessments, the deadline for appealing your property tax assessment will be 30 days from when the new assessments are mailed. The new assessments do not contain the equalization factor, which is what raised the assessment. This factor was added to all county properties, and it pushed the value over what it should have been: this is why the assessments are being sent out again. The new assessments, without the equalization factor, will be mailed the week of July 25. This will start a new 30-day appeal window.
Recently Bond County citizens received a document from the assessor’s office—it was just that, an assessment. It was NOT your actual bill, but rather one portion of the information that goes into the bill’s calculation. “What I send out was an assessment change notice; it is the first part of creating a tax bill.
What it does is tell what the assessment was, and what it will be. The document shows the property’s change in value.
“We are trying to get your assessed value correct, and that is [multiplied] by your tax rate to equal your tax bill,” Shank said. “The most important thing on this paper is what your cash fair market value is.”
On the tax assessment, there will be a percentage next to your assessed value. This is NOT how much your taxes are going up. It is how much the value of your property has changed.
According to the “Bond County Real Estate Taxes 101” booklet, one or more of the three methods is used to determine assesed value:
- Market data — properties that are similar and near yours and that have sold recently are compared to the property being assessed.
- Cost — the amount of money it would take to rebuild the property, factors for depreciation and age are subtracted.
- Income — income-producing property is calculated by the durability and future net income returned to an investor.
The booklet and other documents that can help property owners understand the taxing process are available at the assessor’s office. If owners want more information on the taxing process, they can go to the Bond County Assessor’s Office and speak with them, or find the documents online at www.bondcountyil.gov/supervisor-of-assessments.
“I want people to come in and look at the breakdown of what we have them assessed for,” said Shank.
Shank says she wants to make sure that she has the most accurate information possible when assessing property. If an owner feels that their property has been assessed incorrectly, they should talk with the assessor’s office. Shank wants the public to know that if they have any questions at all about their assessments or the process, they can come and talk to her and she will help explain the process.
Photo Credit Rebecca Sponsler
