Taking a look at real estate tax bills in Geneva
The arrival of tax bills last week, with many showing reduced assessed values for properties, is giving Bob McQuillan of Geneva some sad sense of satisfaction.
McQuillan — founder of Geneva Tax For Accountable Controlled Spending — refreshed our memories last week.
“I thought I would resend the first email that FACTS ever sent. It was sent to every member of every taxing body in Geneva. I have highlighted what FACTS was trying to accomplish. This email is dated August 22, 2008, clearly most taxing bodies did not hear our message of a need to reduce budgets,” McQuillan wrote last week.
“I kinda wish we were wrong in our prediction!”
In that August 2008 announcement, McQuillan wrote: “If the current downturn in the housing market continues, the assessment received in December 2009 will reflect the loss in property value in the years 2006, 2007 & 2008. Clearly each taxing body’s revenue is directly related to home assessments. A decrease in assessment, which appears very likely, will mean a decrease in revenue for each taxing body.
“It is the group’s goal to be proactive to this potential ‘perfect storm’ and avoid the possibility of homeowners paying more taxes on property that has less value than today.”
That’s come to pass for his property for 2010, Kane County tax records show. He will pay 6.2 percent more in property taxes this year than last, even though his property’s value decreased 2.2 percent. But for the 2009 tax bill, taxes dropped by 4.6 percent, and the property value decreased by 6.5 percent.
McQuillan has run, unsuccessfully, for the Geneva school board and the Republican nomination for the state House 50th District.
Washington update: Maureen Levy, the Geneva High School junior serving as a Senate page this spring, was home on break recently and gave an update to the Geneva city council.She parried well with the mayor, who is known for his quick quips and rapid-fire questioning of anybody who appears before the council. #147;I#146;ll do the jokes here, Levy,#148; Mayor Kevin Burns kiddingly scolded.Levy wouldn#146;t dish any dirt on senators, despite Burns#146; repeated requests to tell the audience who the wackiest senator was. She did say that, if you are watching C-SPAN television and see a lot of people stopping by Sen. Mark Kirk#146;s desk, they may have nonpolitical motives. He is the present custodian of the #147;candy desk,#148; where treats are stored. Levy said she hopes to sneak some Graham#146;s Chocolates in there, to represent Illinois.You can see more of her impromptu presentation by watching the April 18 city council video on the city#146;s website at thor.geneva.il.us:8080/audio/video.Serious running: The Well church of Geneva will take on slavery with its #147;Stop the Traffic#148; 5K run Saturday, May 14.It aims to draw attention to the millions of people worldwide held in slavery for sexual exploitation and forced labor. The church believes there are at least 100,000 such victims in the United States. A group called Making Waves is organizing the run. Money raised will go to training first-responder emergency personnel and other interested community members in recognizing and dealing with commercial sexual exploitation of children. That training takes place May 21 in Geneva.The race is at 9 a.m. at the Batavia Government Center, 100 N. Island Ave. There will be a children#146;s 1-mile race. After the races, local bands will perform, and there will be information available about human trafficking. The entry fee is $10. To sign up, visit www.makingwaves.tv.