McHenry County Blog

Al Zielinski

And, here’s what it looks like:

Alan Zielinski for Grafton Township Assessor

McHenry Township Assessor Carol Perschke outlines her qualifications:

Information, Innovation, Leadership

I’m Carol Perschke, McHenry Township Assessor since 1995, running for re-election in 2013. I have a Democratic opponent.

My office has served property owners with information, innovation and leadership. Future vision includes continued excellence in service, fairly and professionally.

Information & Customer service

• Education in person, print and web
• Ask the Assessor night
• Extended office hours and home visits

Innovation

• Online access since 2000/2001
• Ongoing work toward paperless office
• Advanced assessment software user

Leadership

• Department head; award winning professional
• 2012 budget lower than 2009
• Past officer County Assessors Association & Illinois Assessors Association
• Current chairman Illinois Property Assessment Institute
• McHenry Lions Club since 1999; current 2nd vice president

I have the passion/energy to continue making ours the best assessment office in the county.

Please choose me on April 9, 2013 based on qualifications and accomplishments, not generic promises. My education, qualifications and accomplishment details will follow.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Carol L. Perschke, CIAO/I
McHenry Township Assessor

Bill Ottley’s secret admirer provides this criticism on Al Zielinski’s opposition to Ottley for Grafton Township Assessor in the First Electric Newspaper:

September 1, 2012 4:00 PM
Anonymous said…

Assessor Bill Ottley

The current Assessor, Mr. Ottley, has been doing a great job for years. He is one of the most aggressive assessors around when reducing assessments during this economy.That is why Grafton Township was the only township in McHenry County to receive a positive multiplier last year from the County Assessor.

Mr. Ottley has, and will continue to support Grafton residents as our assessor.

Mr Zielinski does appear to have have a solid background for appraisals, but he has no experience with mass assessments, and I have seen nothing to say he has done any commercial assessing. You can not “appraise” 21,000 properties a year using his appraiser techniques, you could not afford to budget the man power needed to do that many properties individually. You will also NEVER have zero appeals. If you lower assessments to make us tax payers happy, the county adds a multiplier. Either way, some people will file an appeal to look for a further reduction of taxes.

To say that you will have no appeals… shows Mr. Zielinski does not fully understand the actual job of the assessor.

I would feel better, if he worked as a Deputy Assessor somewhere first, and really understood what job he is trying to win.

September 4, 2012 9:30 AM
Anonymous said…

Mr. Ottley wasn’t at my appeal he left it to his deputy who sided with the appeal board. I would expect the guy I elected to be present at my appeal but Ottley choose to leave it to his chubby little minion.

This year the county made me an assesment offer NOT OTTLEY! Ottley should work a little harder at that 60K job of his and not give so much authority to his deputy.

Al Zielinski’s reply:

Al Zielinski

Grafton residents have had their fill of acrimony so I requested civility at the Special Meeting and spoke in that tone.That professionalism continues by my running a clean, courteous campaign.

In that same context, all postings here and elsewhere have been personally made by me, never by unnamed surrogates.

I personally wrote the press release announcing my candidacy and created my own web site. It’s important that voters see the candidate as deeply and in as many varied lights as possible.

Grafton residents have also had their fill of partial truths so my campaign will correct misrepresentations with clearly-cited data sources.

I never said a single word to Ms. Moore at the Special Meeting.

If you have proof to the contrary, please provide it.

Competent appraisers always have plenty of work regardless of the real estate market because our opinions are sought beyond the mortgage industry.

My clients includes attorneys for estates and divorces, appraisal reviews, expert witness testimony, employee relocation, home improvement guidance, federal, state and property tax issues, etc.

The core of my campaign is bringing a courteous, qualified and professional presence to the assessor’s office.

Beyond that are innovative, taxpayer-centric ideas like a Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

Finally, I promise to save taxpayer’s money by reducing the bloated, recently approved assessor’s budget of almost $576,000!. (Source: Grafton Township Special Board Meeting Minutes, April 23, 2012.)

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:

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.

A press release from Grafton Township Supervisor Linda Moore:

Grafton Township Assessor to Speak on Property Tax Assessments

Bill Ottley

Assessor William Ottley will be making a presentation about property tax assessments on Tuesday July 26th at the Huntley American Legion, 11712 Coral Street, Huntley at 11 am.

This program is part of the Grafton Township Senior Bingo program that is held twice a month.

The presentation is open to the public.

Converge Home Health Care will sponsor the free lunch and provide door prizes for the bingo games which start at 12:30 and end at 2:30 pm.

Transportation is available by calling Grafton Township Supervisor Linda Moore’s office at 1-847-669-3328.

This event is organized by Grafton Township Supervisor Linda Moore, please call if you have any questions.

Please mark your calendars for the August 16th senior event. The Huntley Lions Club will provide free hearing tests at the American Legion from 9am to 4pm. There will also be a presentation by an audiologist at 11 am, followed by a free lunch and bingo games.