Tax bills prompt calls to assessor's office
JOLIET -- The new property tax bills are in the mail.
And some people are freaking out.
The first wave of bills hit homes last week. That's when the phones really jingled at the office of Will County Supervisor of Assessments Rhonda Novak.
"Our phone calls went up by 50 percent," Novak said. "So many people had questions. They're confused by the slow economy and wanted to know, 'Times are hard -- but my taxes went up. Why is that?'"
Luckily, Novak knows. Here are answers to some frequent questions about tax bills.
Q: How was my tax bill calculated?
"Most people complain about skyrocketing taxes, but there are two forces determining how much they pay," she said. "It's valuation and taxation."
Simply put, valuation refers to the value of a piece of property, or how much it's worth. That factor is partially based on the type of house, meaning, is it brick or frame? Does it have two bedrooms and one bath -- or four of each? Are there fancy cherry kitchen cabinets topped in glossy granite? Does the garage have one, two or three doors? The nicer the house, the more it's worth.
The value also is determined by the sale prices of similar homes. And here's where some people get confused.
"It's a three-year sales study," Novak said. "You look at three years of sales, not just one year."
You see, the taxing authorities provide services. The police patrol the streets, the fire departments put out blazes and the schools educate. But it costs money to provide those services. In Illinois, each homeowner foots part of the bigger bill to keep those taxing authorities in business.
So Novak urges residents to know their taxing authorities. Does the school district want a new building? Does the police department need more officers because the town is growing? In general, those things cost money and can increase taxes.
"You need to be aware of government spending," Novak said. "You need to know where your money is going."
Not yet.
"The bill in your hand is from 2007, but you pay it in 2008," Novak said. During much of 2007, the economy was better than it is now, she added.
And assessments are based on a three-year study. The 2007 tax bills were calculated by using figures from home sales in 2004, 2005 and 2006 -- all boom years when prices were at their peak in Will County.
And despite the hard times, the prices for homes still are relatively stable here, Novak said. Things are different in California or Florida, the states where the prices went off the charts.
"Even with the drop in prices in our area, they haven't gone down in value in such a significant way. A $350,000 house isn't selling for $100,000," Novak said.
Q: Do foreclosures in my neighborhood affect my property taxes?
The answer is no and yes, Novak said.
Some people have bought new homes that were in foreclosure. So they got a break in the price. If the home was worth $200,000 but sold for $175,000, the tax bill will be based on the higher figure, she explained.
"If the property isn't in bad shape and doesn't need repairs, it's worth more, even if you got it for less," Novak said.
But if there are a number of foreclosures in a single neighborhood, and the homes really need work, that will affect individual tax bills. And they'll go up, not down.
"If the foreclosed homes are a mess in a neighborhood, they will lose assessment value. And if you lose value, the tax rate must go up," Novak said. "That means everyone else must pay more, because there is less value in the taxing district."