How do I read the Assessment Notice Postcard?

Note: Exemptions are not shown on the postcard assessment notice.

What do I do if I do not agree with the market value?

1. You have the right to appeal your assessment within the legal 30-day appeal period. The appeal period begins with the publication date, not the date you received the postcard.

• assessment exceeds market value
• assessment is not uniform within similarly designed buildings in your  neighborhood

3. Information on how to appeal is listed on our website– under the Appeals tab in the left-hand column.

4. You must have detailed evidence; not just newspaper headlines or similar market generalities.

5. If you decide to formally appeal your assessment with the county Board of Review you may download the required forms from the county website: www.co.mchenry.il.us. In the Assessments area under Forms. Make sure to get all the necessary pages and instructions.

6. Our office will have extended evening hours during the 30-day appeal period for those folks not able to come in during the normal 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM time.

Remember – you are appealing the assessment –

not the $ amount of property taxes.

We are required to assess at one-third market value

as of January 1 of the tax year (2009).

We consider 2008 sales activity for these values.

WHAT IS AN EQUALIZATION FACTOR?

It’s a multiplier, calculated by the county assessment office per State of Illinois (Department of Revenue) statues. It is based on the 3-year average median level of assessments in that township. It is applied to the entire township properties, except farmland and farm buildings. It does vary from township to township.

OK, SO WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN?

1. By law, we are required to assess properties at one-third market value (33.33% of market value). I could be the most popular assessor around if I just reduced every-one’s assessment. However, our work is measured by the calculation of sales ratios by the county and the State.

2. A sales ratio is – the current selling price divided by the prior year EAV (equalized assessed valuation). That sales ratio ideally should be 33.33%. Example: If a house sold in 2008 for $100,000 and the prior year EAV was $25,000 that would mean a sales ratio of 25.00% (not good). If that same sale prior year EAV was $33,000 the sales ratio would be 33.00% (in compliance with law).

3. No matter what the sales ratio is (high or low), these numbers are ranked and the middle number of the entire batch is called the median.

4. The equalization factor is based on a 3-year average of the median. Therefore, if over the 3-year period the median averaged 33.33% we would have a positive multiplier. Because 2005 fell off and is replaced by 2008, we could see a negative multiplier of 0.9858.

The object of the equalization factor is to bring the prior 3-year average median level of assessments to 33.33% for the current assessment year. As of this writing our tentative 2008 McHenry Township equalization factor is .09858. That indicates within that 3-year period that the median level of assessments was below the State required 33.33%.

If we make too many assessment reductions for 2009 it will only result in a higher equalization factor applied to the entire township! We are doing our absolute best to balance our assessment adjustments for 2009; increasing and decreasing where needed within that balance. One particular area, in sales going back to 2004 through 2008, the sales ratio never exceeded 20%. That’s an absolute indicator that area needs revaluation so it is brought up to the required 33.33%.