Kane County taxpayers say assessments too low

In perhaps a show of how upside down the housing market truly is, Kane County Board members Thursday told Supervisor of Assessments Mark Armstrong they are being flooded by calls from taxpayers complaining about their property assessments falling.

Armstrong and the Board of Review deal with hundreds of objections every year by taxpayers who believe their property was overvalued in the assessment process. The purpose of such a complaint is to get their tax bills lowered.

But board members told Armstrong many of the complaints are coming from people looking to sell their homes at a price point that now is not supported by the new property assessments they're seeing.

“Well, if they don't believe they are paying their fair share of taxes and want to pay more, then they certainly have the right to file an appeal,” a dumbfounded Armstrong said.

He added that it should be no surprise by now that both assessments and home values are going down.

“When supply increases and demand does not, prices are going to go down in any market, including houses,” Armstrong said.

Board members said they're also getting complaints from homeowners who have higher tax bills despite the lower assessments. Armstrong delivered the same response he gave to a similar question in May.

“Taxes increase because governments spend more money,” Armstrong said. “It is a spending issue. Assessments are about paying for your share of the spending. The other side is the spending itself. If government spending doesn't go down, that still gets billed somewhere no matter what happens to your individual assessment.”

The most recent numbers collected by the county illustrate Armstrong's point.

From tax levy year 2000 to tax levy year 2009, levies have doubled for nearly every level of government in the county. Taxing bodies may inflate their levies to more than what they think they'll actually need to ensure tax dollars from new property growth is captured. A levy, therefore, isn't necessarily a complete reflection of money spent.

More spending should also factor in an increase in the number of people using government services because of population growth. Economic inflation is another factor. But the rise of tax levies the past 10 years show an increase that might be outpacing all of those factors.

For example, in levy year 2000 cities and villages in Kane County put forward a total combined tax levy of about $64.2 million. In levy year 2009, those same municipalities created a combined levy of about $120 million.

Unit school districts in the county are typically the largest portion of the tax bill for any homeowner. In levy year 2000, unit districts had a combined tax levy of $328 million. In levy year 2009, that levy hit $675 million. Park districts, fire districts, community colleges, townships, road districts and even Kane County government itself have all seen similar escalations in their levies.

A taxing decade

A look at combined tax levies, by level of government in Kane County, from 2000 to 2009:

Kane County:

$34 million (2000); $36.7m (2001); $38.7m (2002); $36.2m (2003); $38.5m (2004); $41m (2005); $46.6m (2006); $49m (2007); $52m (2008); $52.5m (2009)

Townships and roads:

$17.1m (2000); $18.8m (2001); $19.9m (2002); $20.9m (2003); $22.2m (2004); $24.2m (2005); $25.6m (2006); $27.5m (2007); $28.5m (2008); $29.4m (2009)

Cities and villages:

$64.2m (2000); $72.3m (2001); $80.6m (2002); $89.9m (2003); $106.8m (2004); $113m (2005); $123.4m (2006); $113.8m (2007); $120.8m (2008); $119.9m (2009)

Unit school districts:

$328.4m (2000); $360.5m (2001); $401.4m (2002); $440.4m (2003); $479.8m (2004); $533m (2005); $577.7m (2006); $625m (2007); $660.6m (2008); $675.4m (2009)

Community colleges:

$29.3m (2000); $31.8m (2001); $34.3m (2002); $40m (2003); $45.6m (2004); $48.3m (2005); $49.1m (2006); $52.5m (2007); $55.6m (2008); $60.3m (2009)

Fire districts:

$12.5m (2000); $14.3m (2001); $18m (2002); $20.6m (2003); $22m (2004); $26.7m (2005); $30.2m (2006); $$34m (2007); $36m (2008); $37.6m (2009)

Park districts:

$21.6m (2000); $23.8m (2001); $25.3m (2002); $29.4m (2003); $33.6m (2004); $34.7m (2005); $37.3m (2006); $40.1m (2007); $42.5m (2008); $43.9m (2009)

SOURCE: Kane County Comprehensive Financial Report 2010