McHenry County Blog

A press release from the Huntley Area Tea Party:

Property Tax Action Group Addresses Huntley Area Tea Party over Lunch

At Huntley Area Tea Party, May is “Action” month.

We begin with a lunch gathering at 12:30 pm* on Wednesday, May 8 at Golden Corral – 1591 S Randall Rd, Algonquin, IL.

The “Action” comes from PTAG – Property Tax Action Group – and Alan Scott who will tell us about PTAG, their activities and major goals to

1. keep our property taxes down and
2. seek equity and fairness in our assessments. 

Alan will also talk about the importance of local taxing district meetings and our participation there.

We’ll learn what can be done to help achieve each of those two important goals here.

Mark your calendar and  join us for a relaxing and important lunch, with information and some informal conversation about our property taxes – today and tomorrow.

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*The afternoon start brings us a free lunch drink, compliments of Golden Corral. Arrivals before 12:30 will miss this freebie.  Mention “tea party meeting” to the cashier, then bring your chosen meal (and free drink) to the meeting room. Eat, relax and listen to Alan help us all with information we can rely on and apply.

There are thirty days to appeal one’s assessment after publication of real estate assessments.

Here is the schedule for those whose publication has occurred or who publication is set:

2012 ASSESSMENT PUBLICATIONS

The 2012 assessments for McHenry Township will publish on Thursday September 13, 2012 in the Northwest Herald. The final date for filing an appeal will be Tuesday October 15, 2012.

The 2012 Assessments for Dorr Township will publish on Wednesday September 12, 2012 in the Woodstock Independent. The final date for filing an appeal will be Friday October 12, 2012.

The 2012 assessments for Nunda Township will publish on Friday September 7, 2012 in the Northwest Herald. The final date for filing an appeal will be Tuesday October 9, 2012.

The 2012 Assessments for Hartland Township will publish on Wednesday August 29, 2012 in the Woodstock Independent. The final date for filing an appeal will be Friday September 28, 2012.

The 2012 assessments for Alden Township will publish on Wednesday August 22, 2012 in the Northwest Herald. The final date for filing an appeal will be Friday September 21, 2012.

The 2012 Assessments for Greenwood and Seneca Townships will publish on Wednesday August 22, 2012 in the Woodstock Independent. The final date for filing an appeal will be Friday September 21, 2012.

And, here’s the procedure for filing an appeal supplied by Supervisor of Assessments Robert Ross:

HOW TO FILE AN ASSESSMENT APPEAL

Do you have questions about filing an assessment appeal? Click on the following link for an indepth detailed account of the appeal process.

http://www.co.mchenry.il.us/departments/assessments/PDFDocs/How%20to%20File%20an%20Appeal.pdf

Alan Zielinski spoke at the last Grafton Township Annual Meeting.

Incumbent Grafton Township Assessor Bill Ottley told me he was running for re-election a couple of months ago.

Now, he has an opponent named Alan Zielinski. His press release is below:

Alan Zielinski Announces Candidacy for Grafton Township Assessor

Lakewood – Property owners can look forward to more accurate and, therefore more fair, assessments when Alan Zielinski wins election as Grafton Township Assessor in the April 2013 election.

“I’ve seen too many taxpayers treated unfairly by a broken system and decided it was going beyond helping them as an appraiser,” said Zielinski.

Property taxes are the main expense of most households and a fair allocation of the tax burden is Zielinski’s primary concern.

“My appraisal experience, coupled with my business perspective and moral compass, will help taxpayers get a fair shake each and every year.  Working together, we can achieve my goal of zero appeals by the end of my second term.”

In addition to improving the accuracy of assessments, Zielinski intends to champion legislation in Illinois similar to Georgia’s Taxpayers Bill of Rights which carries two significant benefits for property owners:

• being awarded legal fees if their appeal prevails in court and
• that Boards of Review must provide specific grounds for their rejections of property owners’ appeals

An illustration on Al Zielinski’s web site.

Zielinski’s qualifications include the following:

• Certified Illinois Assessing Officer
• Illinois and Wisconsin Certified Real Estate Appraiser
• B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University
• MBA from Michigan State University
• More than a decade of residential, commercial and industrial appraisals in Illinois

In addition to education and highly-refined analytical perspective, Alan also has a heart as evidenced by one of his campaign promises:

“10% of my gross salary to the Grafton Food Pantry.”

In his own words:  “Government service is about service, not building wealth. My promise will stay in effect at least through my first term until times really improve for everyone.”

His web site can be found here.  His business web site can be found here.

His web site contains the following statement:

Under the bill signed Friday by Governor Pat Quinn, the assessment appeal process can start earlier in the year.

A press release from State Rep. Mike Tryon:

Bill that Adds Clarity and Consistency to Property Assessment Appeals Process Signed into Law

SPRINGFIELD….. Governor Pat Quinn has signed legislation into law that will create consistency across all Illinois counties for those who wish to appeal their property tax assessment.

According to State Rep. Mike Tryon (R-Crystal Lake), the chief co-sponsor of the bill, the bill amends the property tax code by tying appeals deadlines to the date assessments are published, rather than to deadlines that vary according to the population of each county.

“This law creates a set timeline of 30 days after the date of the publication of an assessment list for property owners to appeal their assessment,” said Tryon.

“It creates consistency and clarity to a process that is currently very confusing for many people.”

Senate Bill 3607 received unanimous support in both the Illinois House and Senate, and was supported by the County Assessment Officers Association, the DuPage County Board, Lake County, METRO Counties of Illinois and the Illinois County Treasurer’s Association.

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McHenry County Supervisor of Assessments Bob Ross managed to make the effect of this bill clear to me.  It means that the assessment process can start earlier than previously, if the Township Assessors get their books in earlier.  Before the amendment the assessments could not be published before August 10th.

I cut my political teeth while McHenry County Treasurer in 1959-70 by challenging real estate assessments before the McHenry County Board of Review (a fool’s errand in those days) and, then, appealing them to the newly-former Illinois Property Tax Appeals Board.

Jim Bishop

What I could find of the "Tax Avenger" sword.

I had read the decision railroad lawyers had gotten. It said that taxes for rights-of-way in each county should be based on assessments equaling the county average.

So the Involved Citizens Association and I conducted two studies to find out what the average (median) assessment level was in McHenry County.

We used two different methodologies

1. We compared assessments on homes with the amount that tax stamps on deeds indicated the homes’ values.
2. We sent questionnaires to home purchases for the same year asking what they paid for their homes.

Both studies yielded the same result.

As I remember the finding was that the median assessment level was 43.2%. Something close to that anyway.

At the time, the rules laid down by McHenry County Supervisor of Assessments were that all residences were to be assessed at 60% of market value.

Turns out that most township assessors went “wink, wink, nod, not” and assessed only the new homes purchased by people in subdivisions like Crystal Lake’s Coventry at 60%.

Obviously, a lot of older homes were assessed a lot less or the median (mid-point when lining all the percentage figures up from high to low) could not have been 43%.

The new home buyers who figured how they were being discriminated against were, of course, quite upset.

Fourteen appealed all the way to the State Board.

All won.

There's always next year.

As McHenry County Treasurer, I was handing out $500 refund checks to Coventry homeowners.

Great publicity for me, undoubtedly helping me get elected State Rep. in 1972.

This year and two years ago, Crystal Lake attorney Jim Bishop did the heavy lifting.

Due to the absurdity that the County Board of Review will not take into account distressed sales, he advised me to get an appraisal. I did from Crystal Lake’s Meador and Associates.

Recently, I received a letter from Bishop telling me my assessment had been decreased from $107,595 to $101,657.

A 5.5% cut in my assessment worth a bit over $500.

Not as big a percentage cut as the new homeowners got back in 1970–a cut of almost 30%–but worth the effort.

After we got the decision, Joanne Wojcik gave me a fiber board sword painted gold with a sparkling ribbon.  On it was written, “Tax Avenger.”  It recently got destroyed in a kids’ sword fight.

The table above shows the seventeen townships in McHenry County, the number of appeals for this tax year (2011 assessments, taxes to be collected in 2012), the total number of real estate parcels, plus the percentage of appeals from each township.  Algonquin Township is highlighted only because its appeals are still in process.

So, what do the numbers tell us?

For starters, the most tax unrest seems to be in the Woodstock area.  Both Dorr and Greenwood Township have lots of Woodstock residents.

9.75% of the real estate parcels in Dorr were appealed, while 7.65% in Greenwood were subject to appeals.

Grafton Township’s high 8.7% appeal rate is sandwiched in between Dorr’s and Greenwood’s numbers.

The other townships above the county average of 5.67% were Nunda (6.89%) and Richmond (6.39%).

Least activity was seen in Hebron ( 1.24%), Chemung (1.65%) and Alden( 2.3%) Townships.  All are on the Wisconsin border.

This map shows which townships are where in McHenry County.

Three townships had somewhere between 3% and 4% of their property owners appeal.  They are

• Hartland – 3.2%
• Marengo – 3.26%
• Algonquin at – 3.9%

In the 4% to 6% range are the following:

• Riley – 3.85%
• Coral – 4.08%
• Seneca – 4.39%
• McHenry – 4.73%
• Burton – 5.33%

Of the four largest townships–Algonquin, Grafton, McHenry and Nunda–only two are above average.

Friday, December 23rd is not only the beginning of the Christmas weekend, but it is also the last day to file appeals with the McHenry County Board of Review.

Only Algonquin Township’s appeal deadline has not already passed.

Actually, the ad should read, "If you're in Algonquin Township, file your assessment appeal this week."

It’s too late for appeals for all the smaller townships.

Only the 88,000 people in the southeastern township can still appeal.

Anecdotal feedback reveals that finding similar homes that have sold for cheaper prices isn’t good enough to get an assessment reduction this year.

Too many are apparently not what the Board of Review members consider “arms length sales.”

Back when I was studying for the Certified Illinois Assessing Officer designation test that term mainly meant sales between relatives.

Now it seems to have been extended to include short sales and foreclosures.

My attorney (and advertiser), Jim Bishop recommends that an appraisal be submitted to back up one’s reduction request. He tells me that for appeals filed by Friday at 4:30 in Woodstock’s Administration Building, the Board of Review gives an extra ten days to file appraisals.

That’s good, because my appraisal’s field work will be done next Tuesday.

Jim Bishop notes that appeals for townships other than Algonquin would be too late.

Real estate assessments will be published in the Northwest Herald Wednesday.

I don’t know what the news stand price is, but the price for the insert is $2.50 after Wednesday, as I understand it.

There’s about a month in which one may appeal one’s assessment.

Assessment appeal times for all but Algonquin Township property owners has expired.

From the McHenry County email last Friday:

10 Questions to a Fair Assessment:
An Explanation of the Assessment Appeal Process in McHenry County

After you have received your 2011 assessment notice please use the commonly asked questions below to better understand your assessment.

1. What’s my first step to determine if my assessment is accurate?

Make sure the information about your property is correct. The local assessor may also be able to show you other properties similar to yours in your neighborhood. You can determine if your property is equitably assessed. He or she may also have comparable sales information. If you have lived in your home for a long time you may not realize how much it is worth now.

2. I didn’t agree with the assessor, what do I do now?

If you are unable to get your assessment satisfactorily resolved with the Assessors’ Office, then get prepared. You only have 30 days from the publication date to file an appeal, so you need to start doing your research early. Go to the county web site at www.co.mchenry.il.us. Then go to departments, then to assessments, then to forms. Bring up the county appeal form and familiarize yourself with it. While there, look at the Board of Review Rules. You will also need to check out recent home sales by going to the county or township assessment office to view recent sales in your area. You might also want to talk to a realtor or appraiser.

3. How will I know what my new assessment is?

You will be receiving a letter in the mail later this summer or fall from the McHenry County Assessor’s Office. This is your new official assessment notice and this is the second year the notice is in letter format that includes more assessment and property information. At the same time you receive your letter, all assessments are published in the local newspaper. That publication date marks the beginning of the 30-day appeal process for your township.

4. I’m filing an appeal. What now?

Don’t miss the deadline. By state statute, your appeal cannot be accepted after the deadline. Determine if your appeal is to be based on equity or market value. Your home could be assessed at the correct market value, but if all the other similar homes on your street are assessed below market value, then you are over assessed because you are carrying a larger share of the tax burden. In an equity complaint, you must supply the assessments of comparable properties in your neighborhood. In a market value complaint, you must supply recent sales data to support the fact that your home may be over-assessed.

Remember, you need to use comparable properties. That means properties of similar size, story height, quality of construction and style. You must use the comparable property form to show the differences between the comparable properties and your home. Be sure to file this information with your complaint form. This is your “evidence” to prove that your assessment is incorrect. You want to provide the most convincing case that you can. This means that you also need to show where your information came from. Pictures of your comparables and your own home are very, very valuable evidence. After receipt of your appeal, in most instances, you will receive a Notice of Hearing.

In addition, the option to have your assessment appeal based on the evidence without a formal hearing is available by checking the box indicating no hearing required. In this case, you would submit your evidence to the Board of Review. The township assessor would then submit their evidence. The Board of Review would then review the evidence from both parties and base their decision on the weight of the evidence provided by both parties.

5. I purchased my home during this past year. Will the Board of Review consider that?

If you recently purchased your home and the Board of Review determines the sale to be an “arms length” transaction between unrelated parties, this may be considered good evidence. Short sales and foreclosures that are advertised on the open market may be “arms length.” The Board of Review reserves the right to adjust all sales for market conditions/time and terms of the sale.

6. What happens at the hearing?

The hearing is somewhat informal. Present will be two or three Board of Review hearing officers, a clerk to handle the paper work, a representative from the township assessor’s office, and you, the property owner. You may be represented by an attorney if you choose. You must include the Authorization to Represent form if you have someone represent you at the hearing.

The Board of Review will ask you about the evidence that you submitted to prove your assessment should be changed. If you go to the hearing and all you have to say is that your taxes are too high, the Board of Review will tell you that they have no jurisdiction over your tax bill. They can only discuss your assessment and the fair cash value of your property. After hearing your arguments and asking you questions about your evidence, then the Board will ask the township assessor to respond to your evidence and information and provide any additional information he or she may have.

7. When will I know the decision of the Board of Review?

In almost all cases, the Board of Review will make their decision at the conclusion of the hearing. The Board of Review does not issue official written decisions until all hearings have been held which is usually early March.

8. What if I’m still not happy?

Once you receive that written Final Notice of Findings, you will have 30 days from the date of the postmark to file with the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB). Those forms are available in the county office.

9. What can I expect if I do that?

You will be expected to provide evidence and proof of your contentions regarding your assessment. Determination of hearing date and all correspondence will originate from the state. However, PTAB hearings are held at the county office for the convenience of the taxpayer. The state sends a hearing officer to preside over the hearing, which is recorded. The hearing is a little more formal than the local hearing.

Again, you are allowed to present your case first. The Board of Review is there to explain their reasons for the assessment they placed on the property. The township assessor may be there to provide information and act as a witness for the Board of Review, if the Board made their decision based on information provided by the assessor. Remember, the appeal to PTAB is “de novo” which means all new. You can provide additional information that you may have neglected to provide at the county level. The Board of Review can also provide new information.

10. I don’t think the Property Tax Appeal Board made the right decision. Is there anything more I can do?

Since you have exhausted all of your administrative remedies, you can now file a court action. Contact your attorney.

State Rep. Mike Tryon offers the following advice to Algonquin and Grafton Township homeowners about appealing their real estate assessments:

Friends,

Mike Tryon

If you are a home owner in Algonquin Township or Grafton Township in McHenry County, you should have recently received your property tax assessment letter from the McHenry County Assessor’s Office. In Illinois, a property tax assessment may be challenged if the assessment is thought to be unfair. In the current declining economy, many people have successfully appealed their assessment and have received a reduction.

The first step in determining if your assessment is fair is to call your local township assessor. When speaking to your township assessor, make sure the information about your property is correct. If you still believe your assessment is unfair, schedule an appointment with the assessor. You should bring the following evidence with you to your meeting with the assessor:

• A copy of the sales transfer declaration, a deed, or a contract
• An appraisal of your property
• A list of recent sales of comparable properties (similar size, story height, quality of construction, age, and style to yours)
• Photos and property record cards (available at the county or township assessor’s office) should be included with the evidence of sales prices
• A photo and dollar estimate of any elements that detract from the value of your property that aren’t shown in the property record card

A copy of the record card or appraisal record

If, after this discussion, you still disagree with the assessor and are unable to work it out, you can file an appeal. By law you have only 30 days to do this. At the same time that assessment letters are mailed, assessments are published in a local newspaper. The clock on the 30-day filing period begins with date the assessments are published, so don’t delay.

Detailed information about the assessment appeals process can be found on the McHenry County web site. A direct link to the correct page can be found here.

From this page you can access a Q and A about appealing your assessment (bullet #1) and you can also access the residential assessment appeal packet (bullet #13). You should familiarize yourself with this information and print out the packet. You should also look at the Board of Review Rules (bullet #2).

Keeping in mind that you are working within a 30-day window, you will have to decide if your appeal will be on “equity” or on “market value.” Your home could be assessed at the correct market value, but if all of the other similar homes on your street are assessed below market value, then you are over-assessed, because you are carrying a larger share of the tax burden. In an equity complaint, you must supply the market value and assessment of comparable properties in your neighborhood. In a market value complaint, you must supply recent sales data to support the fact that your home may be over-assessed.

Once you have filled out the paperwork and filed your appeal, a hearing date will be set. In addition, new this year is the option to have your assessment appeal heard on the evidence and you may check the box indicating that no hearing is required. In this case, you would submit your evidence to the Board of Review. The township assessor would then submit his/her evidence. The Board of Review would conduct a hearing based solely on the weight of the evidence provided by both parties.

If you have a hearing that you attend, in most cases the Board of Review will make an oral decision at the conclusion of the hearing. Occasionally they will want to collect additional information. The Board does not issue official written decisions until all hearings have been held which is usually sometime in mid-March. If you are still not pleased with the decision, at that point you will have 30 days of the postmark of the written decision to file a new appeal with the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board.

If, after exhausting all of these remedies, you are still convinced that your property assessment is unfair, your only other recourse is the court system.

As always, it is an honor to represent you in Springfield as your legislator. If I or a member of my staff can assist you in any way please call my Crystal Lake office at (815) 459-6453.

Best Regards,

Michael W. Tryon
State Representative
District 64