Shelby County property owners can breathe a tentative sigh of relief. The Illinois Department of Revenue has set the county's property assessment equalization factor, or "multiplier", to 1.0000, indicating that local property assessments are on par with state law requirements. David Harris, the Director of the Department, confirmed that this year's multiplier aims to maintain uniformity across various local taxing districts, such as schools and fire protection, which span multiple counties. This ensures that property owners with similar values share an equitable burden.
State regulations mandate that properties in Illinois should be assessed at one-third of their market value, while farm properties follow a separate set of rules. The multiplier is adjusted annually, taking into account the sales prices and assessed values of properties over a three-year period. In Shelby County, assessments have hit the 33.33 percent market value mark, based on property sales from 2020 to 2022, as mentioned in the official announcement.
Last year, Shelby County also saw a multiplier of 1.0000. However, this tentative figure could change if the County Board of Review makes significant adjustments or if local data suggests a reassessment is needed. A public hearing for the Shelby County multiplier is scheduled within the next 20 to 30 days, allowing for community input before any final decision is cemented.
It's important for residents to understand that a change in the multiplier doesn't directly impact their total property tax bill. Those numbers are crunched by local taxing bodies each year based on service expenditures. Essentially, unless the taxing districts ask for more money than they did last year, tax bills should remain stable, even if individual property assessments increase. What the multiplier does affect is the slice of the tax pie each property owner is responsible for. This crucial detail was outlined in the state's press release, clarifying the role of the multiplier in property taxation.
