Tryon Tackles Tax Assessments, Other Legislative Issues

It is a question state Rep. Mike Tryon gets often.

How can my property taxes increase when my property value is going down? And sure enough, that question was posed Tuesday morning at the Grafton Township Bingo, where Tryon spoke about legislative issues.

Tryon explained that villages, towns, cities or other units of government can levy the same dollar amount each year even if property values go down. That means, rates go up even if property values don’t, he said.

The good news is that taxpayers have 30 days after receiving tax bills to appeal, said Tryon, who himself filed an appeal a few years ago. He missed this deadline this year and advised the 50 audience members to pay attention to the deadlines.

“You really need to have things ready to file prior to getting your tax bill,” he said.

There are several ways to make a good argument for an appeal: the equity argument and fair market value argument, he said. The equity argument involves a situation where a neighbor is paying lower taxes even though the assessed value of his or her home is the same as yours, he said.

The fair market value argument involves pointing out a house that is selling for less that than its worth, Tryon said.

In each argument, taxpayers should obtain information on three properties to present to the assessor’s office, he said. The information can be obtained by doing a property search, either online or in person, through the township assessor’s office, he said.

Grafton Township Assessor William T. Ottley has talked with Tryon about making changes to the law and “we’ve been trying to do that,” Tryon said. “What is aggravating to me is the fact you have to go through this appeal process when we all know everyone’s real estate value has dropped.”

“Taxes are supposed to be fair and equitable,” Tryon said. “It’s not fair and equitable when you have a system that works against you when you are trying to make an appeal.”

Grafton Township Supervisor Linda Moore said Ottley is scheduled to speak with seniors during the bimonthly bingo event on July 26 and seniors can ask him questions about the assessment process.

Among the other topics Tryon addressed:

• Revamping Illinois’ pension system, which he said should be happening next year. He said the state is paying out high pensions.
• There are several bills looking at changing township government. He said he would support consolidating some of the services townships provide, adding every government entity is “ripe for reform,” however, he would not want to consolidate township highway departments. He said taking on township roads would cost taxpayers too much.
• Tryon said he supports some gambling, like slots and horse wagering as well as a casino in Chicago, but he does not support gambling projects that would affect the Elgin Grand Victoria Casino. He said he feels there is only so much gaming dollars out there.