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Any questions regarding assessments may be addressed to the York Township
Assessor's Office, 630-627-3354.
The 2007 assessments are now available in the Property Record Search.
Please check our
Dates to
Remember page for more information on publication and filing dates.
The Assessor's Office is charged by the state to estimate the market value of
44,000+ parcels of property within York Township--then assess each property at
one-third of market value. Real estate taxes to support the various taxing
bodies are based on these assessments and result from those taxing districts
applying their tax rates to assessments. Governing boards elected in each
district set the budgets for that taxing district.
The Assessor's Office can also provide additional information on the many facets
of the assessment cycle,
appeal process, and senior
exemptions. Residents are welcome to call or stop by to discuss their
assessment concerns.
From the Assessor...
My staff and I continue to hear from many
property owners who are concerned about the downturn in the real estate market.
As homeowners and property tax-payers ourselves, my staff and I are aware of the
frustration of seeing property taxes continue to rise, amid reports of plunging
values, increased foreclosures, and properties remaining on the market for
extended time periods.
It is the responsibility of my office, as
required by Illinois state statutes, to annually assess properties at one-third
of the fair market value. The law requires that we value properties as of
January 1st of each assessment year, based on the prior three years of sales.
In periods when sales prices are increasing rapidly, as they had been for many
years prior to 2008, the use of three years of sales ensures that dramatic price
increases affect assessments gradually. On the reverse side, when prices
suddenly level off or decline, it also takes multiple years for these market
changes to be reflected in property assessments.
2007 assessed
values, which were used as a basis for the most recent tax bills, were
calculated based on sales that occurred in 2006, 2005 and 2004. Although sale
prices began leveling off in 2007, we were not permitted to consider sales that
occurred after January 1, 2007. For 2008, assessments will be determined based
on sales that occurred in 2007, 2006 and 2005. The number of sales declined
sharply in 2007, however, sale prices continued to be relatively stable in
2007. Although sale prices do appear to be declining in 2008, we cannot
consider those sale prices until we place the 2009 assessments. Also, the state
law does not allow us to consider non-arms-length sale transactions, such as
foreclosures, when determining assessed values.
Although my
staff and I are monitoring market conditions closely, please remember that even
in the event that the market downturn is sustained long enough to cause
assessments to decrease, this does not mean taxes will go down. For taxes to
decrease, regardless of whether assessments increase, decrease or remain
unchanged, taxing districts, such as cities, villages, school, park and library
districts must reduce spending. If assessments were reduced, but taxing
districts continued to increase spending, taxes would also continue to increase.
© 2002-2008 York Township. All rights reserved.
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Deanna Wilkins
Assessor |
