Clinton County homeowners take note: the Illinois Department of Revenue has set a tentative new property assessment equalization factor for your area. Coined simply as the "multiplier," this figure sits currently at 1.0249, a notch above last year's 1.0193. This figure means to harmonize assessments across counties, a crucial move that ensures that taxpayers with similar properties do not end up unfairly burdened.

An equalization factor greater than one, like the one announced, suggests that property assessments in Clinton County fall below the state-mandated one-third of market value. Specifically, the assessments have hit 32.52% based on property sales from the past three years. Though the multiplier helps determine your portion of tax responsibility, the total bill comes down to the requests of local taxing bodies. It is according to the Illinois Department of Revenue a change in the equalization factor per se doesn't necessarily mean your total property tax bill will move upward or downward.

Now, while this equalization factor is currently tentative, it can still shift. There's room for this to happen if the County Board of Review throws in some significant changes affecting county assessments or if evidence surfaces suggesting the Illinois Department of Revenue's assessment level averages need recalibration. Residents can voice their perspectives or concerns during a public hearing, slated to take place 20 to 30 days after the factor's publication in a local circulation.

"The assessed value of an individual property determines what portion of the tax burden a specific taxpayer will assume," the Illinois Department of Revenue points out. The Department also makes it clear: "That individual's portion of tax responsibility is not changed by the multiplier."