Lake County installs new process to deal with property tax appeals

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Updated: October 28, 2011 10:57AM

Faced with a skyrocketing number of property tax appeals from homeowners, the Lake County Board of Review is implementing new procedures for reviewing individual tax appeals.

With the downturn in the economy and housing market, the number of assessment appeals has increased dramatically in the past few years. Recent assessment appeal filings for three townships, Antioch, Fremont and Zion, have increased by about 100 percent over last year, according to Chief County Assessment Officer Marty Paulson.

To more efficiently manage the heavy volume of appeals, Paulson said the Board of Review will issue a preliminary decision on each appeal and attempt to settle the case without going to a formal hearing. Previously, the Lake County Board of Review, the panel responsible for reviewing and making decisions on property assessment appeals, held hearings in the vast majority of appeals cases.

Paulson believes the new process will help the Board of Review more efficiently manage the large number of appeals and will also benefit taxpayers, who in many cases will no longer have to travel to Waukegan for appeals hearings.

“This can cut the time and be better for all parties involved if some cases don’t have to go to hearing,” he said. “We’ll still have hearings, but hopefully, not anywhere near as many as we’ve had in the past.”

Under the new system, Paulson said the Board of Review will review evidence submitted in the appeal by the taxpayer and the estimated assessment provided by the township assessor. In cases where the evidence supports a clear determination, the board can then make a preliminary decision and will notify the taxpayer of the decision by e-mail or phone.

A taxpayer who is not satisfied by the preliminary ruling can still request a formal hearing before the Board of Review.

‘An option’

“If they want to go to hearing, we’ll set it for hearing,” Paulson said. “It’s absolutely an option, but not everyone wants to come to Waukegan for a hearing.”

Paulson said the proposed changes are similar to a successful program in Winnebago County and has been done on a limited basis in Lake County in previous years.

The new appeals procedures are meeting with mixed reactions from taxpayers and township assessors.

Steve Minsky, vice president of the Citizen Action Project, a Grayslake-based non-profit group of homeowners concerned about property assessments in Lake County, said he’s hopeful the proposed changes will benefit taxpayers by streamlining the assessment process.

“I think they’re definitely trying to accommodate the citizens,” he said. “We’re cautiously optimistic because even if the appellant is not happy with the preliminary ruling they can still request a formal hearing. I believe they will be much more amenable to giving reductions (in assessments).”

Libertyville Township Assessor Peggy Freese said she understands the need to streamline the appeals process but has some reservations about the county’s proposed changes.

“I understand why they’re doing it because the number of appeals are up, but I don’t know if it will be all positive because I think both sides need to be heard,” she said.

Freese said township assessors typically have more detailed information on how individual assessments are determined than the Board of Review and she’s concerned that changes could be made without adequate input from local assessors.

“It would be nice to be able to defend our assessments if we feel we need to,” she said. “If we have good evidence on why assessments should not be changed, we are going to request hearings.”

For more information about the Board of Review and the appeals process, visit www.lakecountyil.gov/assessor.