December 6, 2007
Truth In Taxation for many local government bodies in the Kankakee area does not comply with Webster's meaning of truth.
This time of year local government determines how much they are going to raise their property tax bill to the community which will be payable the following year. They are suppose to report to the community the percentage increase or decrease in their tax levy they are requesting per the Truth In Taxation law. This is why a flurry of legal notices can be found in area newspapers this time of the year.
The Truth In Taxation law, simply put, requires local government to state how much they got last year, how much are they requesting payable next year and what is the percentage change. Webster defines truth as 1. that which is actually so 2. accuracy. Sadly, based on Webster’s definition, there is little truth to be found in many of the reported requested property tax increases. Many understate the actual increase they are requesting.
The Truth in Taxation law has been on the books for years. Long before the TIF district law was created. TIF districts are areas set aside by City or Village government where all new construction will be kept off the tax rolls for up to 23 years. (State Rep. Dugan passed a law which extends a Manteno TIF district to 35 years.) By keeping all the new construction in these areas off the tax rolls, no property taxes are paid to schools, libraries, park districts, County, City or Village government, etc. All the property tax dollars that would have been paid to local government is instead diverted back to retailers and commercial developers building in the TIF districts.
Many of the local government bodies who have a TIF districts within their boundaries underreport their actual property tax increase annually. They know how much is being diverted away from them by the TIF district so when they report how much they got last year in property taxes, they inflate that number with the dollar amount they did not collected from the TIF district. By inflating the previous year’s number, the increase they are requesting payable next year is being reported as being much smaller then what it really is. They can only tax the property that is on their tax roll. They can only collect property taxes from property that is on their tax roll so inflating the dollar amount they got last year with money they did not receive is not truth or that which is actually so.
The County of Kankakee, Bradley and Bourbonnais libraries, Kankakee Valley & Bourbonnais Township Park districts, Village of Bourbonnais & Fire district, Manteno School district all understate their property tax increases using the method above. They say since the Truth In Taxation law has not been updated since the TIF district law was created and therefore does not expressly forbid what they are doing, their version of truth is OK even if it is not in keeping with Webster’s definition. (Note the Tax Cap Law is updated and does expressly forbid what they are doing.)
Here are some local government bodies that do have TIF districts within their boundaries and believe in Webster’s definition of truth and therefore report their requested property tax increases accurately every year. They are the City of Kankakee, Kankakee School District 111, KCC, BBCHS, Bradley and Bourbonnais Elementary school districts.
County
of Kankakee property
tax hearing will be December 10 at 11 AM. They always understate the
actual property tax increase they are requesting. They report their requested
operation levy increase as being a 6.8% increase. The actual operation increase
they are requesting is 10.75%. They are reporting their requested debt service
levy increase as being 111.2%. The actual debt service levy increase they are
requesting is 118.9%
Bourbonnais Elementary property tax hearing will be December 18 at 6:45
PM. They always report their levy numbers accurately. They are requesting a
9.3% increase in their operation levy and no change in their debt service levy.
Click here for a full report on their property tax levy payable next year --->http://www.besd53.k12.il.us/coffice/pdf/BudgetFY08/The2007TaxLevy.pdf
St. George Elementary property tax hearing will be December 19 at 6:45
PM. They always report their levy numbers accurately.
They have too. They don't have the option of understating their levy
increases since they don't have any TIF districts within their boundaries. They are requesting a
21.9% increase in their operation levy. They are also requesting a 5.1%
increase in their debt service levy.
Bradley Elementary property tax hearing will be December 13 at 7:00 PM.
They always report their levy numbers accurately. They are requesting a 10.45%
increase in their operation levy and a .31% increase in their debt service levy.
Kankakee School district property tax hearing will be December 10 at 7:00
PM. They always report their levy numbers accurately. They are requesting a 5%
increase in their operation levy and a 4.4% increase in their debt service levy.
BBCHS School district property tax hearing will be December 10 at 6:45
PM. They always report their levy numbers accurately since former
Superintendent Don Turner retired. They are requesting a 9.99% increase in
their operation levy and a .91% decrease in their debt service levy.
Manteno
School district property tax hearing will be December 18 at 6:15 PM. In the
past they have understated the actual property tax increase they are
requesting. I don’t have this year’s numbers yet.
Bourbonnais Fire District property tax hearing was December 6. They
always understate the actual property tax increase they are requesting.
They reported their requested operation levy increase as being 14.02%. Actually
they are requesting an 18.77% increase. (The only way they can get that large
of an increase is if there was enough new construction added to the tax rolls
since last year which I doubt.) They have no debt.
Village of Bourbonnais property tax hearing will be December 17 at 5:45
PM. They always understate the actual property tax increase they are
requesting. They are reporting their requested operation property tax increase
as being 3.26%. This is laughable. It is really a 9.32% increase. They are
not collecting any property taxes for debt service.
Village of Bradley I have not seen anything published on their levy request payable next year. They have in the past reported their requested levy increases accurately.
Village
of Manteno property tax hearing was
December 3 at 6:00 PM. I don’t have their numbers at this time.
City of Kankakee property tax hearing was November 29. They always report
their levy numbers accurately. They are requesting an 8.3% increase in their
operation levy and a 3.3% increase in their debt service levy.
Kankakee Valley Park district property tax hearing will be December 10 at
5:00 PM. They always understate the actual property tax increase
they are requesting. They reported their requested operation property tax
increase as being 13.68%. The actual operation property tax increase they
are requesting is 21.97%. They reported their requested debt service
property tax levy as being a 6.94% decrease. The actual requested debt
service property tax levy is a .2% decrease.
KCC hearing schedule has not been published as of yet that I am aware
of. They always report their levy numbers accurately.
Bourbonnais Township Park District They are not holding a hearing this
year. They always understate the actual property tax increase they are
requesting. However, for the first time since they were created, they are not
requesting an increase in their operation property tax. However they are
requesting a 26.8% increase in their debt service.
Bradley and Bourbonnais Library districts I have not seen any information published yet on what these districts are requesting in property tax levy increases payable next year. Both districts have a history of understating the actual property tax levy increases they are requesting