Community Corner

Ela Property Assessments to Arrive Early

Property assessments in Ela Township and throughout Lake County will be at least a month earlier this year, to allow more time for appeals.

 

Ela Township Assessor John Barrington said assessment notices went out in November last year, but this year property owners should expect to see them in September or October.

“The local assessors and the Chief County Assessment Officer for Lake County are working to shift the cycle to start earlier. This will allow more time to work on the record number of appeals we have been seeing these past few years,” Barrington said.

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Barrington said, when he was a new assessor in 2005, there were about 500 complaints and another 150 recommendations from the assessor’s office to reduce. The number of complaints has more than doubled, to over 1,000 and the recommendations for reductions have increased dramatically to about 1,000.

“There's no question that the market is down. We have seen property assessments consistently decline these past few years and many will again this year,” Barrington said.

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“I suggest that homeowners review the value when they receive the assessment notice this year and if the value seems overstated to contact our office immediately,” Barrington said.

See for more information.

A recent change in state law provides counties the ability to publish assessments prior to Aug. 10 and maintain a 30 day assessment appeal period, according to a news release from Martin Paulson, the  Chief County Assessment Officer.

The County Assessment Officials Association worked with State Senator Pam Althoff of McHenry to get this timeline changed through the Illinois State Legislature. With the huge increase in the number of property owners appealing their assessment valuations, it is crucial that the process start earlier in order to get through the appeal hearings before the tax billing cycle begins.

Chief County Assessment Officer Martin Paulson explained, in the news release, "It's important for property owners to note this change, because they might see their assessment notice arrive earlier than in previous years. Everyone will still have 30 days to file an appeal, but it will really give our office a head start to meet the increase demands of the assessment appeal process."


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