Piatt County equalizer set at 1.0000 | New

SPRINGFIELD – Piatt County received an interim property assessment equalization factor of 1.0000, according to David Harris, director of the Illinois Department of Revenue.

The property assessment equalization factor, often referred to as a “multiplier”, is the method used to achieve uniform property assessments across counties, as required by law. This equalization is particularly important because some of the state’s 6,600 local tax districts overlap in two or more counties (eg, school districts, college districts, fire protection districts). If there was no equalization between counties, the result would be substantial inequalities between taxpayers with comparable properties.

State law requires that property in Illinois be appraised at one-third (1/3) of its market value. Agricultural property is valued differently, with farmland and dwellings subject to regular valuation and equalization procedures, but farmland and farm buildings being valued according to standards based on productivity.

The equalization factor is determined annually for each county by comparing the sale price of individual properties sold over the past three years to the estimated value assigned to those properties by the county valuation supervisor / county appraiser.

If this average level of contribution over three years is equal to one-third of the market value, the equalization factor will be one (1). If the Average Valuation Level is greater than one-third of the Market Value, the Equalization Factor will be less than one (1). And if the average valuation level is less than one-third of the market value, the equalization factor will be greater than one (1).

Appraisals in Piatt County represent 32.88% of market value, based on property sales in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

The currently allocated equalization factor is for 2021 taxes payable in 2022.

Last year’s equalizer for the county was 1.0165.

The provisional factor is subject to change (1) if the County Board of Review takes action that significantly affects the county’s assessments or (2) if local or other authorities may submit data showing that the Department of Revenue’s estimates the average level of ratings in the county should be adjusted. A public hearing on the provisional multiplier will take place between 20 and 30 days after the provisional factor is published in a major circulation newspaper in the county.

A change in the equalization factor does not mean that the total property tax bills will increase or decrease. Tax bills are determined by local tax bodies when they ask for money each year to provide services to local citizens. If the amount requested by local tax districts is not more than the amount received in the previous year, total property taxes will not increase even though assessments may have increased.

The assessed value of an individual property determines how much of the tax burden a particular taxpayer will bear. This person’s share of fiscal responsibility is not affected by the multiplier.