Townships Brace for Appeals From Property Assessments

Assessors for Algonquin and Grafton townships are hoping residents will be satisfied when individual property assessments arrive in the mail this week but are bracing for what could be a record year in appeals filed by homeowners.

"Last year, we had three times the number of appeals we normally receive," Algonquin Township Assessor Bob Kunz said. "This year, we expect at least that much."

Kunz said the 2010 assessments for Algonquin Township as a whole fell seven percent this year. Algonquin Township, the largest township in the county, made about 28,000 changes in assessments this year, Kunz said. There are about 38,000 total parcels, totaling $3 billion in assessments in Algonquin Township alone.

"This whole process has taken almost a year to compile," Kunz said.

Last year, assessments remained constant. Assessments are determined by housing sales averages from the three previous years.  The housing economy's decline in the past three years and because of the three-year statuary requirements, there has been a lag time before assessments have decreased.

The 2010 assessments incorporate property sales from 2007, 2008 and 2009. However, there is an additional lag time, almost 18 months, between the dates assessments were calculated and when that number reflects on homeowners' tax bills. The assessments homeowners receive this week won't appear on their tax bills until May 2011, Kunz said.

Lower assessments don't always translate into lower property tax bills.  The property tax rate, which determines how much residents pay in taxes, fluctuates according to the tax levy requests of government agencies.

 Grafton Township Assessor William Ottley said his office received 2,200 appeals from residents challenging their assessments over the past two years. And, despite making many changes this year, Ottley expects appeals to grow.

"We anticipate there is going be a tremendous volume," Ottley said.

Ottley said his office looked at rulings made last year by the county's Board of Review, the governing body that hears homeowners' appeals. Assessment changes were made for homeowners with similar properties based on some of those rulings, Ottley said.

"We have lowered some assessments, and there are more that are being lowered right now," Ottley said.

Homeowners have 30 days to file an appeal through McHenry County to challenge their assessments. That 30-day period begins from the date townships publish legal notices. A

Algonquin Township is set to publish today and Grafton Township is scheduled to publish Thursday. Property owners can obtain the necessary forms and rules packets through the McHenry County Assessment page.

Kunz encourages Algonquin Township residents to file through the county, and can call the township for more information, if necessary.

"They need to a have place in the process, and the only way to do this is to file a form," Kunz said. "Once they file a form, we will work with them. But processing all these requests creates such a high work load it pushes our office right up to the 30-day deadline."

Kunz noted that once the appeals forms are filed, many assessment reviews will not likely be resolved until March 2011.

Over at Grafton Township, Ottley recommends homeowners call Grafton Township first at 847-669-3383 if they dispute their assessments. If high call volume prevents property owners from getting through township telephone lines, Ottley suggests residents e-mail the township at www.Graftontownship.us.

"We will talk to property owners, and, depending upon the evidence they present us, we may not dispute their appeal," Ottley said. "Knowing what the Board of Reviews has done in the past, we will look at the evidence and may change the assessment for them."