McHenry Times

A bill that recently passed the Illinois State Senate would seek to prevent budget shortfalls for local entities by pushing changes to assessed property values until the next tax year.

Sponsored by state Sen. Donald DeWitte (R-St. Charles), the legislation is important because budgets for entities such as school districts are currently based on Equalized Assessed Valuation (EAV) data provided by township assessors that doesn’t always reflect what the actual valuation is once tax time rolls around, according to a press release from DeWitte’s office.

“This is important legislation that improves local taxing bodies’ ability to properly budget based on property assessment data received from township assessors. It was brought to me by District 158 CFO Mark Altmayer,” DeWitte said in an April 23 Facebook post.

Altmayer, who also serves as the President of the Illinois Association of School Board Officials (IASBO), said that some school districts have had their budgets come up as $2 million short of projections due to the difference between the initial valuation and the ultimate revenue after adjustments, according to DeWitte’s press release. He said that, especially within the context of pandemic restrictions and the adjustments districts have had to make, the timing is critical.