Nobody likes forking out money to the government, but women might take a broader view of taxes than men do.

“Most women are the ones doing the household budgeting, and taxes strike them differently,” said Tina Eisler, a Realtor with RE/MAX Property Source.

AMY J. CORRENTI | ROCKFORDWOMAN.COM
Tina Eisler, a Realtor with RE/MAX Property Source, is a single mother who likes to see how her tax dollars are improving public schools.

“Women are more concerned with how their dollars are being spent. They look at the value added to their lives by what they get for taxes.”

Eisler, a single mom, used herself as an example: She’s concerned with the quality of public schools she helps support.

Taxes are a hot-button issue in the Rock River Valley this year because many assessments went up while prices have declined in a slow housing market.

What gives?

It’s all part of the complicated system we use for assessments and taxes. In their goal to make taxes as fair as possible, policymakers have come up with a process few people understand.

The formula
In general terms, here is how it works:

Your tax bill is determined by the tax rate and your assessment. Each taxing body comes up with the amount it needs to raise through taxes. Those are added up, and the multimillion-dollar total is divided into the value of all the property in your municipality. That produces a tax rate, which is then applied to your home.

If someone owns a house worth twice as much as yours, he or she pays twice as much in taxes.

That’s fairly simple, but hang on, it gets hairy.

Your local assessment — the value put on your property by your township assessor — is supposed to be one-third the real value, or salable price, of your property. That’s according to state law.

To make sure each property is assessed at the 33.3 percent level, the supervisor of assessments uses recent sale prices to come up with a multiplier, which is applied to all properties. Some assessments go up and some go down, but if they’re all assessed at 33.3 percent, the taxes will be fairly apportioned.

What made taxpayers particularly irate this year is that many assessments went up when, we all know, their market value probably went down.

That’s because the supervisor of assessments is required by law to use sale prices of three previous years to determine the equalizer that was applied to our assessments. That means sale prices in 2005, 2006 and 2007, when the market was pretty strong and prices were rising, were used in setting the 2008 assessments, on which current tax bills are based.

AMY J. CORRENTI | ROCKFORDWOMAN.COM
Bev Campion

In the next few years, said Bev Campion, the brave lady who is the supervisor of assessments in Winnebago County, assessments will reflect the sagging market of 2008 and 2009. In the meantime, we have to live with it and remember that, even if we are all overassessed, as long as we are overassessed the same, the tax system is fair.

“There are laws we have to follow,” said Campion, who has been blamed personally for poor schools, MetroCentre expenses, potholes and more. “We don’t always like them, either.”

What you need to know
Campion understands the whole system better than just about anyone. She has been in the office for more than 26 years and just started her fourth four-year term as the top boss.

She said her staff of patient, knowledgeable workers really are advocates for taxpayers, explaining time after time how people can go about lowering their assessments and/or tax bills.

First, check your tax bill for the exemptions you’ve received. You get a break if you live in your own home, if you’re 65 or older, if you’ve made certain improvements or if you’re a disabled veteran, for example. If you deserve an exemption but didn’t get one, contact your supervisor of assessments office (in Winnebago County, that’s at 404 Elm St. in Rockford, 815-319-4460).

Exemptions are the only way to reduce your tax bill once you receive it.

If the problem is with your assessment, the time to complain is in the fall when it is reviewed and established. You have 30 days, usually from about the middle of August to that same time in September.

Here’s how to ask for a reduction: You may or may not get a mailed notice of your assessment. But around the middle of August, use your home computer or one at the public library and log on to co.winnebago.il.us/departments.asp. Scroll down and click on Supervisor of Assessments. Then look at the list on the left for Assessment & Exemption Inquiry. Click on it, and you get a form. By typing in your name or address, you will see the record on your property and assessment. Remember, multiply it by three to get what is supposed to be the sale price, or fair-market value, of your house.

You can get details of your assessment, and check if it’s accurate, from your township assessor.

Rockford Township, the big player in Winnebago County, lists assessments at rockfordtownshipassessor.net. It includes factors used to assess your house, such as square footage, number of fireplaces, bathrooms and total rooms, exterior, roof and driveway surfaces, heating and AC systems, and size of basement and garage. If you find an error, contact your township assessor. It’s usually no problem to get remedies for errors like a listing that you have central air when you don’t.

If there are no errors but you still think your assessment is out of line, especially compared with other houses in your neighborhood, you can file a written complaint with the Board of Review. The deadline depends on when assessments are finalized, but is usually in mid-September (see How to file a complaint over your assessment, Page 18).

Is it worth it?
It’s an intimidating process for some people, but no one should be afraid.

AMY J. CORRENTI | ROCKFORDWOMAN.COM
Nancy Hyzer

Nancy Hyzer, a Rockford real estate attorney, said high assessments are worth fighting, even if you only get a portion of what you sought.

The best evidence is a current appraisal of your home by a qualified appraiser. “You can try going without an appraisal, but I wouldn’t bother unless I had one,” she said.

The appraisal will cost you about $300, but remember that whatever reduction you get on your assessment pays off for years because the assessment is adjusted annually. What saves you $100 one year will add up to much more over the next 10 years, Hyzer said.

Don’t bother with arguments, such as “The house next door to me is in foreclosure.”

That doesn’t matter to the Board of Review, which has to follow state law: Decisions are based on your property and sale prices of comparable homes in your area.

If you decide to hire a lawyer, make sure you get one with real estate experience. But this is not required, and many people go through the process on their own.

After 25 years of practice as a real estate attorney, Hyzer has seen women come more to the forefront in tax/assessment/homebuying matters. Where women once deferred to men, some women are the ones willing to pursue the case for a reduced assessment.

“Women tend to be more organized, better prepared,” she said. “They can be more determined and tenacious.”

Of course, if you’re a first-time buyer, the time to be concerned with assessments and taxes is before you buy.

Eisler the Realtor tells clients to look at all angles: home prices may be lower in one city but taxes higher, and the reverse in a neighboring city.

It all depends on which piper you prefer to pay and what you get for your hard-earned money.

What if I don't pay?
First, a late fee of 1.5 percent is assessed for each month a payment is late.

The county has the right to sell the property taxes at a tax sale. The county sells taxes, not property; this typically happens in the autumn.

The sale is similar to a reverse auction. Registered tax buyers bid a percentage rate with a cap at 18 percent. The caller accepts the lowest bid to win. The homeowner has 2½ years to buy back the taxes.

If the taxes are not bought back from the buyer in that time, the tax buyer becomes the owner of the property.

I owe, I owe: What you need to know about paying your tax bill
Property-tax payments are due in two installments, usually in June and September.

Winnebago County
Your second installment is due Sept. 4 — a couple of months away.

If you have questions, go to co.winnebago.il.us and click on Taxes.

To learn your options for payment, click on Treasurer’s Office. You also can sign up for e-mail payment reminders.
Many folks pay their taxes in escrow as part of their mortgage payments.

If you do not, you can:
1. Have your taxes withdrawn automatically from checking or savings via a free service. This is done through AMCORE Bank, but you do not have to have an account there. Call 815-319-4400.

2. Use the state E-Pay program, which accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express but charges a sliding convenience fee. Call 877-455-3729 for more information; go to illinoisepay.com for fee levels.

3. Mail your check with the bill you received to:

Winnebago County Treasurer
P.O. Box 1216
Rockford, IL 61105-1216

4. Pay in person at the Winnebago County treasurer’s office between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays (regular business hours):

Winnebago County Administration Building, Room 205
404 Elm St.
Rockford, IL 61101

5. Go to participating banks, including Alpine and AMCORE. Find the full list at winnebagotreasurer.com/participating_banks.html.

If you pay your taxes late, a 1.5 percent penalty per month is added.

Boone County
Your second installment is due Sept. 1.

Many folks pay their taxes in escrow as part of their mortgage payments.

If you do not, you can:
1. Send your check, payable to the Boone County Treasurer and including the property number, to:

Boone County Treasurer’s Office
601 N. Main St., Suite 203
Belvidere, IL 61008

2. Pay in person at the office between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays. Please bring the entire bill.

3. Most Boone County banks accept payments, but call yours to confirm.

4. Use the state E-Pay program, which accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express but charges a sliding convenience fee. Call 877-455-3729 for more information. Or go to boonecountyil.org and find the link under Departments, then County Treasurer.

If you pay late, a penalty will be assessed.

If you have questions, call 815-544-2666 or write treasurer@boonecountyil.org.

How to file a complaint over your assessment
Timing
Taxpayers have a 30-day window to file a complaint on their tax assessments after the initial publication of the assessments. For the 2008 tax bills, that window closed the last week of September. Winnebago County Supervisor of Assessments Beverly Campion said the assessments of 2,716 parcels were contested.

Assessments for the 2009 tax year should be posted in August. This is the time to protest, not when you pay your bill.
Your assessment may be mailed to you. If not, find it on your county’s Web site: co.winnebago.il.us, boonecountyil.org/assessor/assessor.htm or oglecounty.org.

Factors
Homes are assessed at one-third of the market value as mandated by Illinois law. Each year, the supervisor of assessments determines the three-year average median level of assessment for each township and calculates the percentage increase, or decrease, required to bring each township’s median to 33.3 percent of the market value.
You are paying 2008 taxes in 2009; your 2009 assessment will be paid in 2010.

Strong housing sales in 2005, 2006 and 2007 contributed to equalization factors that brought assessments to a higher level in 2008. Poor housing sales in 2008 will be reflected in this year’s assessments and next year’s bills.

What to do
If you think your assessment is unfair, you must file a complaint within a month. In Winnebago County, call 815-319-4460 for help with the process. In Boone, call 815-544-2958.

After you fill out the appropriate paperwork, the Board of Review looks over every complaint before a ruling is issued.

If your complaint is denied, you can ask for a hearing.

To prepare, helpful documents include:

• A recent appraisal report. 
• A copy of the closing statement if the property was recently purchased.
• Sale prices, assessed values and parcel numbers of three or more comparable properties within one year of the assessment date.
• Income and expense statements for the past several years on investment properties.

Evidence brought forward in the hearing is usually above and beyond what you’ve presented in the initial complaint.

You can search the Register Star’s public records database to find residential transactions back to 2005 at gov.e-rockford.com/publicrecords.

You also may need to enlist the help of your township.

For example, if you live in Rockford Township, which makes up most of Rockford and some of Loves Park, you can go to rockfordtownshipassessor.net to look up square footages, number of bedrooms and such.

For other townships, you’ll have to call for the policies on getting comparables; some have limited ability to help, so the Winnebago County assessor’s office often acts as your clearinghouse. The Winnebago County site (co.winnebago.il.us, then click on Taxes, then on Supervisor of Assessments office) also has records you can use in research.

In Boone County, you can contact your township assessor even before the assessments are turned in and mailed to you — aka, now — to review any concerns. You can find the appeal form at boonecountyil.org/assessor/assessor.htm. And you can research property through a free search and a subscriber search at boonecountyil.org; click on Property Info.

Winnebago township assessors:
Burritt/Harrison: 815-965-4078
Cherry Valley: 815-874-2119
Durand/Laona: 815-248-3039
Harlem: 815-633-9380
Owen: 815-965-3082
Pecatonica/Seward: 815-239-1394
Rockford: 815-965-0300
Rockton: 815-624-2597
Roscoe: 815-623-7323
Shirland: 815-629-2728
Winnebago: 815-335-2737

Boone township assessors:
Belvidere: 815-547-8095
Boone: 815-544-2958
Caledonia, Bonus, Spring and Poplar Grove: 815-544-2437
Flora: 815-547-7202
Manchester/Leroy: 815-389-2136

Copies of the decision will be sent to the you, the township assessor and the supervisor of assessments.

Otherwise ...
You can still protest your taxes. You must pay the full amount, then file a lawsuit in circuit court.

But the basis for these suits is not an argument about the value; instead, paying under protest means the taxpayer doesn’t believe the tax law or the use of the tax is legal.

For example, thousands of Rockford School District residents filed protests against the the tort tax to pay for remedial desegregation programs.