West Central Reporter

Hancock County has been issued a tentative property assessment equalization factor of 1.0000, reports David Harris, director of the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR). This equalization factor, commonly referred to as the "multiplier," is intended to ensure uniform property assessments across counties as mandated by law.

Several of the state's 6,600 local taxing districts, such as school districts and fire protection districts, span multiple counties. Without a standardized equalization process, significant disparities in tax burdens among property owners would occur.

"State law requires property in Illinois to be assessed at one-third (1/3) of its market value," Harris said. While farm properties are assessed using different criteria, such as productivity standards, farm homesites and dwellings follow standard procedures for assessment and equalization.

Annually, IDOR determines the equalization factor for each county by evaluating property sales data from the past three years. When property assessments average one-third of their market values, the multiplier is set at one (1.0000). Deviations above or below this level result in factors less or greater than one, respectively. For 2021 to 2023, Hancock County assessments averaged 33.22% of market value.

The currently assigned factor is for the 2024 tax year, payable in 2025. Last year, the county's equalization factor stood at 1.0000.

The tentative multiplier remains open to adjustment under certain circumstances. Changes may occur if the County Board of Review makes significant assessment modifications or if local officials provide substantial evidence for revising IDOR's estimates. A public hearing for the tentative multiplier will be conducted 20 to 30 days post-publication in a widely read county newspaper.

Changes to the multiplier do not inherently raise or lower total property taxes. Tax amounts hinge on requests from local taxing bodies, which decide their monetary needs to service local communities. So, if fiscal requests are similar to the prior year, total property taxes will remain stable despite assessment changes.

Additionally, an individual's share of the tax burden remains linked to their property's assessed value, unaffected directly by the multiplier.