Lake County gets first multiplier in 15 years

For the first time in 15 years, an adjustment will be made to increase Lake County property values for taxing purposes.

The so-called multiplier, a nonfactor most tax years, will be listed on Lake County tax bills to be sent the first week in May.

“That's when we'll get the phone calls,” said Kipp Wilson, tax extension administrator for the Lake County Clerk's office.

The state has added a multiplier of 1.99 percent, which will be applied to nearly all properties in the county to boost the assessed value.

Assessed values are supposed to be one third of the fair market value of property. If the value after appeals is less than 99 percent or more than 101 percent of that mark, the Illinois Department of Revenue applies an equalization factor, which also is known as a multiplier.

The multiplier is not designed to alleviate drastic changes in property value but to bring the assessments, which are calculated on the average of the three previous years of sales, back to one third of market value.

“This is a correction,” Wilson said. “This isn't Springfield deciding we need more money.”

The multiplier will have a nearly negligible effect on tax bills, he added, perhaps about $10 more on a $300,000 house.

The 1.99 percent multiplier for 2010 Lake County tax bills is the first time in more than 15 years it has made a difference in the assessed value for taxing purposes.

The reason, said Marty Paulson, chief county assessment officer, is because the number of appeals have skyrocketed.

Paulson said his office and the Lake County Board of Review has been “busier than we have ever been,” with 17,300 appeals — compared to 3,600 appeals in 2006.

Wilson added that even with the correction provided by the multiplier, assessed values still have dropped nearly 5 percent countywide from last year.

Steve Minsky, vice president of the Grayslake-based Citizens Action Project, which formed in 2007 in response to high assessments, said the multiplier wasn't surprising given the number of appeals that resulted in reductions.

But those who got one may not see a difference.

“It doesn't mean they'll get a break on their tax bills,” he added.

Taxing bodies are limited to 5 percent or the rate of inflation, whatever is less, in the amount they request each year from taxpayers in the form of a levy. According to property values, tax rates rise or fall to generate the amount requested.

The inflation applicable to this year's bills is 2.7 percent.

“On average, you'll see a 2.7 percent increase in your (tax) bill,” according to Wilson.

Exemptions are deducted after the multiplier is applied to determine the final billing value. Farm land (but not the homes on it) and state assessed properties, such as railroads, are not affected by the multiplier.

The biggest impact will be on governments that overlap counties, like McHenry Elementary District 15. Because the multiplier is applied only to the Lake County properties it will mean those owners could bear a slightly larger portion of District 15's tax burden, Wilson said.