News

Final numbers confirm Kane Co. assessed value decline

Posted May 17, 2010 11:00 pm

James Fuller

Kane County Assessor Mark Armstrong is used to getting e-mails that begin with "Dear Thief" whenever tax bills are mailed out. Armstrong appeared before a Kane County Board committee Monday to explain why he doesn't deserve that salutation.

The final tax statistics show the county's equalized assessed value plummeted by more than $100 million from 2008 to 2009. The typical residential property in Kane County also had an equalized assessed value that fell by about 1 percent. Indeed, 70 percent of all residential property in the county had a lower equalized assessed value. Yet the average tax bill was 2.29 percent higher this year.

As Armstrong explained, for his part as an assessor, the problem with people getting tax bills wasn't that home values dropped. The problem is that the value of pretty much every home dropped by the same amount. With taxing bodies increasing their levies at the same time to pay higher bills, residents are forced to pay a higher overall tax bill.

Armstrong uses a good analogy in his latest newsletter on his website:

"Let's say that once a week, seven friends meet for lunch at a diner, and they agree to split the check based on their incomes. Three make $20 an hour. Four make $10 (an hour). Those who make $20 will each pay 20 percent of the bill, while those who make $10 will each pay 10 percent. But if their incomes drop to $16 and $8, and the bill doesn't change, each will still pay the same amount (20 percent and 10 percent). And, unfortunately, if the price of the lunch increases, each will pay more, even if their incomes are going down."

In other words, salaries dropped in Kane County (home values) while the price of lunch went up (tax levies).

Armstrong said the most frustrating part of explaining why tax bills are higher isn't the math. The hardest part is explaining a higher property tax bill to someone who actually voted to have higher taxes.

Armstrong said he often encounters taxpayers who tell him they voted in favor of a local referendum (most recently the Elgin Community College tax increase) but they didn't know they were voting to increase their taxes.

"It's been four years in office, and I still don't quite know how to respond to that," he said.

Biggest contributors

Here is a look at the top 10 highest property tax bills in Kane County:

1. Chicago Premium Outlets, Aurora, $3.26 million

2. Geneva Commons, Geneva, $2.2 million

3. Spring Hill Mall, Carpentersville/West Dundee, $2.15 million

4. Algonquin Commons, Algonquin, $1.8 million

5. Toyota Motor Sales, Aurora, $1.69 million

6. Fisher Nuts, Elgin, $1.4 million

7. Q Center, St. Charles, $1 million

8. Kraft Foods, Aurora, $907,000

9. AMLI apartments, St. Charles, $829,000

10. Wind Point Center, Batavia, $819,000

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