Cost of tax increases listed on ballots is misleading, says assessor

At the Indian Trails Library, which is primarily in Cook County but has a little land in Lake County as well, Cook County residents will pay $9.34 per $100,000 rather than the $2.77 listed on the ballot, he said.

The red flag that something was wrong is the big difference between the $2.77 rate on the Cook ballot and the $9.25 per $100,000 written on the Lake County ballot, he said.

#147;There#146;s no way there would be that big of a difference,#148; he said. #147;It shows the absurdity of ignoring the equalizer. It doesn#146;t make any sense.#148;

The culprit is the equalizer or multiplier for Cook County residential property because homes there are assessed at 10 percent of market value, while in other counties that figure is 33 percent. While the multiplier, which is set by the state, changes every year, the most recent one was 3.4.

Both Indian Trails and District 23 used the law firm Chapman and Cutler to help write their ballot questions. A partner with the firm says their language is what Illinois law requires.

Lynda Given said the 2006 amendment states this is the way ballot questions should be written.

#147;The statute doesn#146;t say use the multiplier,#148; she said. #147;What I#146;ve said to people is if they want the multiplier included, the General Assembly should have said that.#148;

Given said she has helped write other laws, and the process is so complicated that it#146;s really hard to get all the words right, and authors often wish they had used a different word. No one has questioned the wording in this law before this year, she said.

The idea behind the 2006 law change was to give voters a realistic idea of how much their taxes would increase if the tax increase passed, said ElSaffar.

#147;I#146;m a lawyer, too, and I don#146;t agree with the interpretation they (Chapman and Cutler) have,#148; he said. #147;You can#146;t get a good estimate if you don#146;t include the state equalizer.#148;

But ElSaffar does not believe any of the districts acted in bad faith. He predicts legislation will be introduced to make it clear the multiplier should be included.

Earl Sabes, public relations manager for the Indian Trails Library District, agrees the ballot question is #147;very misleading and confusing.#148;

The library is asking for a tax increase to make more room for programming and parking as well as accessible restrooms and comfortable chairs to replace aging ones. The specific projects are outlined on its website, indiantrailslibrary.org. Sabes said the library has been trying to promote more accurate figures than the ones listed on the ballots. The district sent people who voted in recent elections a brochure that says the increase would be $8.76 per $100,000 in both Cook and Lake. That#146;s the same as current taxes on an expiring bond issue, so tax bills will not go up due to passing the question on the referendum, although they could go down if it fails.

Luann Mathis, business manager for District 23, said district officials described the real costs of the tax increase to people at a March 12 public meeting, and that a video and an information sheet from the meeting are on the district#146;s website, d23.org, with a dropdown labeled #147;referendum#148; under #147;Board of Education.#148; District 23 says it needs the tax increase to insure financial stability and maintain the current quality of education.

Mathis is willing to answer questions from any District 23 residents.

#147;If an individual took their tax bill from last year and called me, I could run the numbers through and tell him or her what the total increase would be before any exemption based on the price of a house,#148; she said.

Indian Trails serves Wheeling, the Cook County part of Buffalo Grove and a little of Lake County Buffalo Grove, some Prospect Heights and tiny sections of Arlington Heights and Northbrook.

District 23#146;s territory is Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect, Prospect Heights and Wheeling.