The 2009 “Tax Equalization” process.
About the “Real Estate Tax Equalization Process” in Madison
Recently, the owners of every parcel of real estate in Madison
First, this is in response to state-managed reviews, township by township, which claim that properties have been, on the average, under-assessed, hence the need for the adjustment, across the board to every parcel. It’s a process that’s legally required in the state of
So what can one do? The fact is, for this kind of assessment, not a lot. Ordinary procedures for protesting individual assessments don’t apply here, although they might still be invoked if the overall assessment is simply deemed too high. Ordinarly, these protests are made on individual parcels after the Assessor does his job and reports to the owner, where objections are somewhat easily filed with The Board of Review itself. But this equalization process is not in that “ordinary” category. Here, the Board of Review is leveling the “Equalization Factor” against every single property; (In fact, The Board of Review by doing this is indirectly criticizing the Assessor as not having done his job properly…hence the need for the overall adjustment.) And that makes a great deal of difference in how objections are made: Since The Board of Review is applying the state imposed “Equalization Factor”, an individual owner cannot file an objection with the local board for that reason. It instead must be done directly with a state agency called, “The Property Tax Appeal Board”, (web site: www.state.il.us/agency/ptab, which web address is on the back of the card.) And the complaint there can only be with the “Tax Equalization Factor” set. That agency is not prepared to deal with individual assessments otherwise. In my mind, that makes it nearly impossible, surely improbable, for individuals to win, (visualizing Don Quixote’s “Windmill Tilting”.) I anticipate that the local Board of Review would also discourage you from making this appeal.
So this “bottom line”: Individuals should work through the math and see how it affects them. Take the assessed value after the equalization factor is applied and multiply it times 3, (because assessed values are 1/3 of real.) Compare that number with what you’ve paid for the home, or what you think the home is really worth. In the several cases I’ve worked through, these new assessed values, after “equalization”, are still a bit under the purchase price, making it difficult to lodge an objection. However if the new assessed value is substantially higher, than I would still go to The Board of Review and file an appeal, (not for the equalization factor, but just because it’s overall, too high.) You would then need to prepare a presentation for the Board of Review based on “comparables” (valuations of homes equal to yours,) in the ordinary way in which taxes are challenged. We can help you with this. Sometimes, a “Realtor’s Opinion” will help, (but probably not ours, if we helped you buy the home.) A purchased appraisal might also help. We could help select that help. Your protest should be filed with the County