Orland Township was Sole Area Taxing Body to Keep Rate Steady in 2010

Rich Kelly said he has been “swamped" with confused tax payers since the latest tax bills hit mailboxes.  

“For some reason the homeowner’s exemption is being left off of a lot of the tax bills,” he said Wednesday. “It’s usually automatic.”

This year’s homeowner’s exemption is worth upwards of $2,000 and excluded from tax bills only in the event that one’s house was put into a trust, Kelly said.

The senior citizen exemption entitles qualifying residents to an additional break, upwards of $4,000, according to the county clerk’s office. However, for the first time in county history, seniors were required to reapply for the exemption in order to continue their eligibility. Some folks lost the mailing, forgot to fill it out, or misunderstood what they received, Kelly said.

In any event, one only has to reapply for either exemption and, if approved, wait for a new bill. As last recourse, homeowners can bring their bills to the county board of review.

Cook County has a different tax assessment system than the other 101 counties in the state, one that values property at a lower amount. To bring those assessments up, the state inserts a multiplier, or an “equalizer,” into the property tax equation.

The multiplier decreased this year from 3.3701 to 3.3000, yet it remains above the 2008 multiplier of 2.9786.

Unfortunate for today’s housing market, property values and property taxes are not strongly correlated. Local levies and particularly the state equalizer take precedence in the property tax equation.

However, during years of enormous development local taxing bodies are not permitted to increase their levy to meet increases in property values, according to Bill Vaselopulos, director of the county clerk's Tax Extension Department.

According to the Cook County Clerk’s Office, each taxing body with a statutory ceiling has its levy adjusted to the maximum amount based on the statutory ceiling for the district and the previous year’s total equalized assessed value of property, plus the value of any new construction.

This calculation can restrict the institution from receiving the full amount of its levy. Statutory rate limits apply to most categories of taxing agencies, but not to home rule units such as Orland Park.

“We made a point to keep our rates the same,” Kelly said of the township, “and I’m glad the board went along with it.”

Other tax rates that the controls, including general assistance and roads, were also kept steady.

TAXING BODY

2010 Rate

2009 Rate

Change

Cook County

0.423

0.394

+ 7.36%

Village of Orland Hills

0.279

0.269

+ 3.72%

Village of Orland Park

0.498

0.459

+ 8.5%

Orland Township

0.052

0.052

0

Orland School District 135

2.467

2.377

+ 3.79%

Kirby School District 140

3.710

3.564

+ 4.1%

Consolidated School District 146

3.742

3.650

+ 2.52%

Consolidated H.S. District 230

1.812

1.764

+ 2.72%

Moraine Valley Community College

0.256

0.247

+ 3.64%

Orland Fire Protection District

0.879

0.837

+ 5.02%

Orland Hills Public Library

0.110

0.106

+ 3.77%

Orland Park Public Library

0.212

0.203

+ 4.43%

Mokena Fire Protection

(includes part of unincorporated OP)

0.778

0.637

+ 22.14%