What Happened to Township Taxes?

Here is what is happening to taxpayers as a whole:

Township  Inc/Decrease 
2015-2014
in Total Tax
Inc/Decrease
2014-2013
in Total Tax
HARTLAND $95.24 ($518.43)
ALDEN $1,484.21 ($2,923.60)
DUNHAM $877.76 ($10,905.30)
HEBRON $4,219.09 ($5,118.21)
RILEY ($2,678.90) ($1,172.12)
SENECA ($6,000.31) ($4,000.73)
GRAFTON $1,158.23 $32,620.77
RICHMOND $4,000.42 $4,115.76
ALGONQUIN $37.67 ($18,173.62)
NUNDA $4.38 $6.47
CORAL $0.05 $0.66
DORR $2.03 $1.36
MCHENRY $8.31 ($0.11)
MARENGO $2,376.03 ($13,543.29)
BURTON $1,121.41 $2,096.22
CHEMUNG $2,128.90 $2,923.83
GREENWOOD $8,505.07 $10,283.56
All Townships $17,339.59 ($4,306.78)
Road Districts
DUNHAM ($8,347.80) ($15,359.51)
HARTLAND $6,140.26 ($187.36)
HEBRON $1,841.20 $3,741.25
CHEMUNG $14,086.02 $150,623.49
GRAFTON $18,108.34 $23,044.61
NUNDA $2.35 ($30,000.06)
RICHMOND $7,787.73 $9,519.77
ALGONQUIN $39.54 $60.05
ALDEN $2,158.33 $3,295.72
RILEY $2,048.78 $4,005.39
DORR $1,364.19 $22,706.44
SENECA $2,766.68 $4,970.50
MCHENRY $16.53 ($142,112.73)
GREENWOOD $24,900.44 $19,531.56
MARENGO $3,902.54 ($15,234.86)
CORAL $4,993.37 $6,116.88
BURTON $1,370.21 $2,563.62
All Twp Road Dists. $83,178.71 $47,284.76

Township elections are next spring.


Comments

What Happened to Township Taxes? — 20 Comments

  1. Jim Kearns, Robert Wagner, Dan Ziller, and Betty Zirk have cost us more than any other township during their terms of office in Grafton Township.

  2. The Grafton number is directly related to the shenanigans that Al Zielinski pulled last year by reassessing in a non-quadrennial year.

    Grafton’s taxes (and some subdivisions specifically) were raised by a disproportional amount compared to other townships.

    The proof is in that table right there.

  3. So unfortunate so many folks do not grasp the significance of these numbers.

    Kudos to most… of our townships!

  4. Grafton, because of its “idiot assessor,” was the only McHenry township to meet/exceed the Department of Revenue’s accuracy guidelines two years in a row since he took office in 2014.

    The Board “rescued the township from financial disaster” on the backs of the township assessor’s staff.

    Assessor’s fiscal year budgets (approved and posted for 2016-17)
    2016-2017………………2015-2016………………2014-2015
    $325,200…..($74,483)…..$399,683……($64,046)…..$463,729

  5. Why is my paid public official taking time our of his salaried day to post inapplicable nonsense on a local blog site?

    The story is about how taxes have changed over the past years, not about township department spending and the shell game that is used to show department monies spent.

    Al has continually reprimanded for using public computers during work hours on blog sites:

    http://www.graftontownship.us/dnn/Portals/0/Clerk/2015%20Minutes/111615%20Exec%20Minutes.pdf.

    Please Al, instead spend this time researching how to do your job.

    Start with other township assessors and work with the county assessor.

    It’s really not a hard job… just start doing it the same way that everyone else in the county does it.

    The way you are doing it now is costing the township taxpayers way too much money.

  6. You failed the mention the $25k cost for the FOI lawsuit.

    Or how you asked for a dramatically higher budget to hire someone else for your office.

    Or how the Township took away control of nearly all your budgetary items outside of salaries.

    But go ahead, keep operating in your own universe.

    It’s amusing.

  7. Al is claiming accuracy??

    He is the same assessor that mistakenly dropped the value of at least 8 homes in our neighborhood by over $100,000 each.

    What do you think that does to everyone else’s tax bills?

    And this was just one neighborhood!

  8. Not my “claim:” pure data from the Department of Revenue and McHenry County.

    Regarding “dropping values.”

    These three neighborhoods accounted for 84% of Grafton’s total assessment reduction by the CCAO.

    Turnberry reduced $1,025,090

    The Gates reduced $2,679,210

    Cheswick Place reduced $1,464,270

    Further complicating the issue is the entire neighborhoods were not changed; only selected parcels.

    This makes these neighborhoods ripe for equity appeals especially since those reductions are locked by 5 ILCS 200/16-80 until the next general assessment in 2019.

    “What do you think that does to everyone else’s tax bills?”

  9. Grafton township has been a mess ever since John Rossi attempted to build a taj Mahal.

    They would have cost millions the township would never have recovered from.

    Betty Zirk was on the board then and she still is.

  10. Al – Your team lowered the value of approx. 8 RANDOM homes in our neighborhood by over $100,000 EACH.

    Their INCORRECT values stood out like a sore thumb compared to comparable neighboring homes, some even the same models.

    YOU made an $800,000 error in one neighborhood.

    This is not exactly what I would consider accuracy.

  11. Jason…which neighborhood is yours?

    (I’m guessing it’s not Del Webb. ;-))

    Though don’t post your address.

    The Grafton assessor does have a little vindictive streak when someone disagrees with him.

  12. Jason, JT and Pudgy why not run for office in Grafton Township?

    The current board can’t do its job.

    they keep increasing our taxes and the assessor is a mess.

    We need candidates that can manage the township.

    Does the current supervisor even live in the township?

    He bought a farm in Coral Township but he keeps collecting his $40,000 a year while working full-time as a dog food salesman.

    This board has transparency issues.

    Kearns brags that he has avoided the newspapers (and the office).

  13. @resident : I honestly have no problem with the board.

    I’ve been to a handful of meetings over the last few years and they seem to function within reasonable bounds.

    Ali Z though… there’s a guy that truly believes he’s above the law.

    And when you see the dynamics between he and the board or read the written reports of the meetings, it’s clear that they feel the same way we all do on the other side of the “barrel”.

  14. If the board members were doing their job the assessor situation and taxes would be under control.

    Instead of managing the township they just fight.

  15. @ resident – I have to endorse pudgy here.

    The township board cleaned up a horrific financial mess the previous regime had, including lawyer bills and debts.

    The Assessor has continually defied any orders the township board gave him, and has pretty much defied instruction from any county entity.

    Unfortunately, the way the laws are set up, the township board can’t do much other than control the assessor’s budget.

    I suggest reading the minutes from previous meetings and attending one.

  16. Kearns is a hell of a salesman.

    You have bought his half truths and excuses.

  17. OK resident, then cite how Kearns has delved into half truths and excuses.

    The Grafton public has a right to know.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *