This is the second part of attorney Tim Dwyer’s tax protest suit against Algonquin Township:

ALGONQUIN TOWNSHIP AND ALGONQUIN ROAD DISTRICT – FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH PTELL [the Property Tax Cap]

Pleading in the alternative, Objectors assert that both the Township levy and the Road District levy were not adopted in accordance with the Truth-in-Taxation Act.

The Township and the Road District are governmental entities with the power to tax under the Illinois Constitution and the Illinois Compiled Statutes.

As entities with the power to levy and collect ad volerem taxes, the Township and the Road District are subject to the Township Code, the Highway Code, the Illinois Revenue Code and the Property Tax Limitation and Extension Act, as well as the common law which has evolved under the aforesaid statutes.

The Property Tax Limitation and Extension Act (PTELL”) provides, in relevant part:
Estimate of taxes to be levied. Not less than 20 days prior to the adoption of its aggregate levy, hereafter referred to as “levy”, the corporate authority of each taxing district shall determine the amounts of money, exclusive of any portion of that levy attributable to the cost of conducting an election required by the general election law, hereafter referred to as “election costs”, estimated to be necessary to be raised by taxation for that year upon the taxable property in its district.

35 ILCS 200/18-60.

Both the Township and the Road District are “taxing districts” as defined by PTELL.

As such, the corporate authority (the Township Board of Trustees) is mandated, at least 20 days prior to adopting its aggregate levy, to determine and otherwise declare the estimated amount of money to be raised by taxation for the a year upon the taxable property within the districts.

Both the Township as well as the Road District failed to estimate or otherwise notify the taxpayers of the estimated amount of funds necessary to be raised by taxing the property within the districts.

35 ILCS 200/18-60 makes it mandatory that the District estimate and inform the taxpayers of the necessary funds to be raised by ad volerem taxes.

Notwithstanding this mandate, both certificates issued by the Township and Road District purport that the “notice and hearing requirements of Section 18-60 through 18-85 for the Truth in Taxation law are not applicable”. See Group Exhibit A-1, attached by reference.

Because this legal conclusion remains erroneous as a matter of law, both levies issued by the Township remain invalid and void.

The specific requirements of the Truth-in-Taxation Act must be strictly completed with, and failure to do so will cause a levy to be invalid. In Re County Collector, 279 Ill.App.3d 641, 593 N.E.2d 1134 (3rd Dist. 1992).

Accordingly, the levy of .085052 issued by the Township and the levy of .191271 issued by the Township on behalf of the Road District should be rebated to those affected taxpayers, with statutory interest, as delineated within Exhibit B herein.

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff Tax Protestors pray that this Court consider the matters raised herein, find, determine and otherwise adjudicate that the entire levies adopted by Algonquin Township and the Algonquin Road District are illegal, void and excessive as a matter of law, order that the McHenry County Treasurer issue payments to the Tax Objector Plaintiffs of the entire amount taxed upon the Objectors by said Districts, and issue whatever further relief this Court deems just and equitable.