Menard County property owners can breathe a sigh of relief as the Illinois Department of Revenue set the property assessment equalization factor, also known as the "multiplier," to a steady rate of 1.0000. The finalized rate aims to ensure property assessments are uniform across counties, mitigating potential disparities in taxes among comparable properties. Announced by IDOR director David Harris, the multiplier affects property taxes payable in 2024, as reported by the Illinois Government News Network.

According to the state law established in 1975, residential and commercial properties in Illinois are typically assessed at one-third of their market value. Farm properties, meanwhile, are assessed at their agricultural economic value and remain untouched by this state equalization factor. Sale data from 2020 to 2022 suggests that assessments in Menard County are now sitting at 32.91% of market value, which is just shy of the one-third threshold, prompting this year's equalization factor to hold steady.

Adjustments in the equalization factor for Menard County follow after a public hearing earlier this year, with the tentative factor already pinpointing the 1.0000 mark since March 14. Determined annually, this rate is derived from comparing property sale prices over the past three years to their respective assessed valuations by county officials. When average assessments match a third of the market value, the multiplier is set at one, as has been the case this year – maintaining a static from the previous year's factor of 0.9791.

However, local citizens should understand that a change in the equalization factor doesn't directly pivot their total tax bills. Such fluctuations are determined by local taxing bodies, like school or fire districts, based on their annual funding requests to deliver services. As long as these requests don't exceed the prior year's total revenue, property taxes will hold still, irrespective of assessment hikes. "The assessed value of an individual property determines what portion of the tax burden a specific taxpayer will assume," the state's news release stated. The multiplier itself doesn't alter this individual tax responsibility.