Bartlett prepares to lower property tax levy to $9.3 million
The village of Bartlett plans to collect $9.34 million in property taxes from bills charged in 2015, a drop of about 1.49 percent from the previous year.
The proposed property tax levy will pay for general fund expenses, the principal and interest on outstanding bonds and the village's contributions to police pensions.
The state determines how to divvy up that property tax burden among Bartlett residents living in Cook, DuPage and Kane counties.
DuPage taxpayers will shoulder much of the burden - an estimated 63 percent - while Cook should pick up about 36.6 percent and Kane, 0.29 percent.
The forecasts don't factor in an estimated $4 million credit to overcharged DuPage County taxpayers because of a software glitch in the Kane County clerk's office.
As a result, the office underreported total assessed values in certain parts of the county to the Illinois Department of Revenue. The state then shifted too much of the tax burden onto DuPage residents living within Elgin Area School District U-46 and Elgin Community College District 509. Kane residents, meanwhile, were undercharged.
Bartlett officials say the DuPage County clerk's office should announce the final remedy in early to mid-December.
Village trustees also will let residents weigh in on the proposed property tax levy during a public hearing Nov. 18. The board should adopt the levy Dec. 2.
The overall decline, financial planners say, is due to a 2.89 percent drop in the general corporate levy. It marks the fifth straight year that the village has either lowered or kept that portion flat since 2009.
Still, because of falling property values, Cook residents should see an increase in the tax rate by about 2.7 cents per $100 in equalized assessed value.
In DuPage, the rate should decrease only slightly - by less than a penny per $100 in EAV.
Bartlett Finance Director Jeff Martynowicz remains optimistic that the slump in property values will turn around.
"I think the real estate market might be showing some increases in sales that would bring back our evaluation slowly over time, hopefully," he said.