An emailed newsletter from Grafton Township Supervisor Linda Moore:

Dear Grafton Township Residents,

Happy Halloween!

ASSESSMENT VALUES

Although our assessor has submitted his “books” to the county, we may not get our assessment letters and published values until the second week of November.

Grafton Township is the last of 17 McHenry County Townships to publish our assessment values this year. Last year the notices were mailed on 8/29/2012.

We are two months behind last year and the Republican Primary is coming up quickly, February 26th, 2013 for all township officials.

The equalization factor applied by the county last year was 1.0531 for Grafton Township*, it is expected to be even higher this year.

All other McHenry County Townships had equalization factors below 1.0.

This generally can be interpreted as meaning Grafton Township’s assessed values are too low.

While you might think this will lower your tax bill, the authority to equalize is held by the county, the board of review and state department of revenue, they will adjust the low values, resulting in the same final tax bill.

The three main functions of an assessor are to discover, list and value property.

Remember, the law requires property to be assessed at 33.33% of the market value as of January 1 of the current year.

EXEMPTIONS LOWER TAX BILLS

Two exemptions that are underused include the tax deferment exemption and the Disabled Persons’ Homestead Exemption. If you cannot afford to pay your property taxes, are 65 or older and have annual income of less than $50,000 you may be eligible to defer your property taxes until you sell your home or your estate is settled. If you are unable to work or drive to work and have your doctor provide a note verifying this disability, you may qualify for the Disabled Persons’ Homestead Exemption. Contact our county assessor’s office to apply for these programs at 1-815-334-4290.

VOTE

Remember that early voting ends November 3rd. Voting times and locations can be found at www.graftontownshipsupervisor.us.

RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS

There have been some questions related to this agenda item from the October Board Meeting:

E. Discussion and potential action to approve direct deduct from the Township Fund checking account for payment of the phone service for the Supervisor and Assessor’s offices.

The board voted to strike this item from the agenda. Every month the ATT phone bill is past due at the time of the regular board meeting. Without board approval the bill cannot be paid. If the board were to approve the agenda item above, all concerns regarding late fees or disconnect notices, would be resolved. The board could also vote to pay the bill one month in advance to solve this problem. I am also waiting for board approval on 9 past due bills from vendors. Unfortunately, tax dollars will be spent on the late fees when the board does finally approve these bills.

Update to the letter sent to Donna McMahon, as of this date I have not received any response from Trustee McMahon’s wife.

The letter is available for viewing at www.graftontownshipsupervisor.us. It would appear that her concerns have been addressed to her satisfaction as she has not responded for 7 days.

THANK YOU PRIVATE SPONSORS

Many local businesses sponsor township events by providing very important contributions of donations. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Alan Zielinski and Sammy’s Restaurant for hosting a food drive for our Grafton Township Food Pantry. Mr. Zielinski also sponsored the delicious cookies that were served at two of our Property Assessment Presentations. I would also like to thank Springs Rehab for sponsoring the lunch for our Senior Bingo Event 10-30-12. 104 seniors were in attendance to enjoy a Halloween Craft sponsored by Heritage Woods of Huntley and McHenry. A very special thank-you goes to County Board District 6 Candidates Diane Evertsen and Ersel Schuster who surprised the seniors by generously donating the monthly rental fee for six monthly bingo events. The contributions of our local businesses and friends greatly enhance the quality of our township events for the residents. THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!

SAVE THE DATE

Over 2000 invitations have been sent out to residents to join us Wednesday, November 7, at 11 am to meet Ms. Illinois at the Huntley American Legion. Please plan to join us, it is fun for all who come.

Other upcoming events include RTA Informative Presentation December 5th and the AARP Safe Driving Class November 28th and 29th.

Have you had your flu shot this fall?

Take care and stay well!!

Sincerely,

Linda Moore
Grafton Township Supervisor