Park District Refunds Over $250,000 In Wrongly Collected Taxes

GLENVIEW, IL — The Glenview Park District announced it will refund more than a quarter-million dollars in wrongly billed taxes to property owners in areas annexed into the district last year. District staff attributed the error to a change in procedures at the the Cook County Clerk's Office since last summer.

Any of the 213 taxpayers in the annexed areas who paid the second installment of their property tax bill for the 2018 year, due Aug. 1, will receive a credit on their tax bill for next year or may apply for a refund, according to a statement from Jena Johnson, the park district's director of brand strategies and community engagement.

Last September, the park district board approved the involuntary annexation into the district of two areas of unincorporated Northfield Township containing 213 homes. Located on the western edge of Glenview along Landwehr Road, the annexed areas were surrounded on all sides by the park district, which includes the entire village of Glenview as well as parks of Niles, Northbrook, Skokie and portions of unincorporated Cook County.

Park district staff asked the Cook County Clerk's Office about how the property taxes would be applied ahead of the annexation, Johnson said. At the time, officials at the clerk's office told park district staff that district property taxes for the newly annexed homes would first appear on the bill for tax year 2019, which will be paid in 2020.

Deputy Executive Director Katie Skibbe told concerned residents that district staff were "very surprised" to find that residents of the district were taxed early.

"The information that was provided to the Glenview Park District from Cook County last year stated that taxpayers would not see an increase until the 2019 Tax Levy payable in 2020," Skibbe said.

Park district staff only learned that the district property tax was included on the second installment of 2018 tax bills earlier this month, according to the statement from Johnson. They also learned that the clerk's office does not have any way to recalculate the bills that were already sent

"After initial discussions, the Clerk’s Office requested the assistance of the Cook County Treasurer, in an effort to resolve this situation quickly and with the least impact upon constituents," Johnson said.

The solution: the park district cut a $254,917.39 check to the treasurer's office to fully pay for the district's portion of the property tax bill for all taxpayers in the annexed area. The district will send letters to all taxpayers affected by the billing error, according to Johnson.

Those that have already paid the second installment of 2018 property taxes will receive a refund check from the Cook County Treasurer's Office by September. If the taxes were paid by cash or multiple entities, taxpayers must complete and submit an application for a refund with the treasurer's office. For those that have not yet paid the second installment of their tax bill, the amount due will be cut by the amount paid to the park district.

The affected areas include residents of the subdivisions of Alley Lane, Linden Tree, Overland Pass, Pleasant Run and Westview to the west of Landwehr Road and another portion east of Milwaukee Avenue, including the Salem Walk apartment.

All the annexed areas are near park district facilities, including the Glenview Ice Center, Community Park West, Indian Ridge Park, Flick Park and Hawthorn Park. Park district commissioners who supported the annexation, which passed over the objections of residents on a 5-2 vote, said it was a matter of fairness.

Read more: Glenview Park District Annexes 2 Unincorporated Areas