© 2024 WNIJ and WNIU
Northern Public Radio
801 N 1st St.
DeKalb, IL 60115
815-753-9000
Northern Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
WNIJ's summary of news items around our state.

State 'multiplies' Winnebago Co. taxes

Winnebago County non-farm taxpayers are getting a bit of a kick from the State of Illinois annual review of property assessments. 

Every year, the Illinois Department of Revenue conducts a survey to make sure that, on average, countywide property assessments for homeowners are in line with a rate that’s mandated by state law.  That statutory level is one-third of the fair-market value.  Department Spokesman, Mike Klemens, describes what happens if an assessment is too far off base.

"If it's enough below 33-and-a-third, we impose a multiplier on all properties in the county to bring that level up to 33-and-a-third."

Klemens says one of the main reasons they do this is because taxing districts can sometimes overlap into two or more counties. 

This year, Klemens says the department had to apply the equalization factor to Winnebago County’s assessment.  He says they had to boost the county’s level so that it met the standard level. 

But Klemens says that doesn’t automatically result in a higher tax bill.  He says the final bills are determined by local taxing bodies when they request money each year to provide services.  If they don’t ask for more money, a property owner’s bill doesn’t stand to significantly increase, even if the assessment goes up.  County assessors say when a multiplier increase is factored in, its affect on a tax bill is usually negligible.    

Multipliers for area counties:

  • Winnebago County - 1.0168 - that will add 1.68% to all non-farmland assessments in the county. 
  • DeKalb County - 1.000 - no change in assessment
  • Boone County - 1.000 - no change in assessment

 

Tags