East Central Reporter

Jasper County has been issued a tentative property assessment equalization factor of 1.0000, according to David Harris, director of the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR). The property assessment equalization factor, commonly referred to as the "multiplier," is used to ensure uniform property assessments among counties as required by law.

This equalization is significant because some of the state's 6,600 local taxing districts overlap into multiple counties, such as school districts and fire protection districts. Without this process, there would be substantial inequities among taxpayers with comparable properties.

In Illinois, state law mandates that property be assessed at one-third of its market value. However, farm properties are assessed differently; farm homesites and dwellings follow regular assessing and equalization procedures while farmland and farm buildings are evaluated based on productivity standards.

The equalization factor for each county is determined annually by comparing the sales price of individual properties sold over the past three years to their assessed values as determined by the county supervisor or assessor. If the three-year average level of assessment matches one-third of market value, the equalization factor will be 1.0000. A higher average level results in a factor less than 1.0000, while a lower average results in a factor greater than 1.0000.

In Jasper County, assessments are currently at 33.15% of market value based on sales from 2021 through 2023. The assigned equalization factor applies to taxes for 2024 payable in 2025. Last year's equalization factor was also set at 1.0000.

The tentative multiplier can change if actions taken by the County Board of Review significantly affect county assessments or if new data suggests adjustments to IDOR's estimates are necessary. A public hearing on this matter will occur between 20 and 30 days after publication in a general circulation newspaper within the county.

A change in the equalization factor does not necessarily lead to an increase or decrease in total property tax bills since these are determined by local taxing bodies' annual financial requests for providing services to citizens. If these requests do not exceed previous amounts received, total property taxes remain unchanged even if assessments rise.

An individual's portion of tax responsibility remains unaffected by changes in the multiplier; it depends on their property's assessed value relative to others.