Assessments sent out in Hanover Twp.

Now that new property tax assessments have been mailed, residents of Hanover Township may be reeling from a case of sticker shock.

But it could be worse for the township's nearly 24,000 residential property owners, who saw a median increase of 23 percent, down from 26 percent in 2004.

Increases were steeper still in Palatine Township, where assessments rose from 30 to 35 percent on average. Meanwhile, Wheeling Township's climbed 26 percent.

Hanover is the last of the Northwest suburban Cook County townships to release new assessments, which come out every three years.

Hanover Township Assessor Thomas Smogolski attributed the hefty hikes to a "very active real estate market" from 2004 to 2006, the period used to calculate the 2007 assessments.

Those property sales figure into tax assessments. In Hanover Township, the median sale price of single-family homes rose from $195,950 in 2003 to $233,500 last year.

The new assessed valuations will be used to calculate the second half of property owners' 2007 tax bill, which will be mailed in fall 2008.

Under current state law, annual assessment increases used in calculating a tax bill are capped at 7 percent. But the program is set to expire if not renewed by the legislature in Springfield.

Residents may appeal their property assessments.

Smogolski said basis for an appeal can include an inaccurate description of a property, a home selling for less than the listed market value and a home assessed differently than similar ones in the same neighborhood.

Appealing property tax assessments

• The deadline to file an appeal for Hanover Township property owners in is Jan. 18.

• Hanover Township, along with staff from the Cook County assessor's office, are planning a Jan. 9 seminar to help file and accept appeals. Details are still being finalized.

• For information on filing an appeal, call (630) 837-0301 or go to htonline.info.