Cook County Assessor James Houlihan explained that he is seeking a $3.5 million increase over the 2009 budget, with the increase primarily due to wage increases. The number of employees would remain the same. Mr. Houlihan understands that the Board may decide to reduce his proposed budget by 5% if there is an across the board reduction, but he said that the resulting reduction in employees would slow the work of his office. Mr. Houlihan urged the Board to consider the resulting costs. He said that each day that property tax bills are delayed costs the county $50,000 in interest, not to mention the negative effect on local taxing bodies which may need to take out short term loans when bills and resulting payments are delayed. He said that delays this year have been caused by the number of appeals to proposed assessments, as well as the complications in processing 8 different exemptions for over 1 million parcels. Some of these exemptions, such as the senior freeze, are income tested, and are particularly difficult for his office to process, as well as requiring annual filings that have to be reviewed.
Assessor Houlihan explained that there were several reasons why so many property tax bills that have just been received reflect an increase. A number of the taxing bodies increased their levies for 2008. The 7% cap is also being phased out and that is reflected in a lower homeowner exemption than would have otherwise been applicable. Finally, for parcels in the south and western suburbs, the bills reflect a higher reassessment that went into effect for 2008, which was at the height of the property boom. The Assessor is in the process of lowering assessments for 2009 due to the fall in market value, but that does not affect the assessment for 2008. Remember that we pay property taxes one year late. This year’s bills are for 2008.
However, he said that the higher state multiplier that is reflected on the bills does not impact tax bills. The multiplier is used by the State to equalize assessments across all counties for purposes of determining the amount of school funding from the State. The State uses a multiplier for Cook County because it is the only county that classifies property (recently changed to 10% of market value for residential and 25% for industrial). Other counties assess at one-third the market value across the board, said Mr. Houlihan.
Assessor Houlihan says he supports the consolidation of the areas in the county involved with the property tax process in order to streamline the process, though he thinks that the cost savings will be negligible.
--Submitted by Observer Pris Mims
