Assessor
Joseph (Joe) R. Oldani
230 Wabash Street
Manhattan IL 60442
(815) 478-5154 Telephone  Fax (815) 680-5595

Certified
Illinois
Assessing
Official

Manhattan Residents:                                                                               1-8-2022   
          2022 assessments increase again due to inflation in the real estate market.  The main reason for the inflation in the real estate market are the low interest rates.  It seems buyers look to see if they can afford a particular payment rather than worrying about if a home is over valued.  This is great if someone is selling their home but the people that want to live here they get caught with the consequences because higher sale prices on existing homes is what the Illinois Department of Revenue uses to calculate assessment changes each year.  Assessment changes each year are developed by the Illinois Department of Revenue (I.D.O.R.) Real Estate Sale Ratio Study.  This study projects an annual equalization factor that forces assessments to increase or decrease according to the median assessment level in the sturdy that is calculated from each "Market Sale" by dividing the prior year total assessment by the sale price.  Example if a residential property is assessed at 100,000 but sells for $305,000 the assessment level for this sale is .3243 (100,000 / 308,350) just slightly below the State of Illinois mandated median assessment level of .3333 percent of market value,  In this study all of the "Market Sale" sale ratios are ranked from low to high and the middle position of the ranking is used to determine the new year Equalization Factor from the I.D.O.R. Sales Ratio Study.  Example assume the assessment level in the example above is the middle ranking of all the sales being considered in the ranking then the new Equalization Factor calculates to 1.0277 (.3333 /.3243).  Manhattan Township is not unique many other Will County Townships and others across Illinois will also have to increase assessments in 2022 again.  This is the basic process that takes each year as far as how assessments are calculated each year.  The other part of the Tax Rate calculation concerns the Levy that is determined by each Taxing Body listed on an individual tax bill.

         In thinking about this inflation spiral we are in as it relates to the real estate market a temporary solution may be if the the Illinois State Legislature could temporarily cut the state's mandated assessment level say by fifty percent to compensate for the inflation caused by the low interest rates in the real estate market.  This may not be as easy as stated here for other political reasons. 

         It is the township assessor's duty to adjust assessments each year to help minimize annual equalization factor each year in preparation for the following year but the assessor has no control over real estate sale prices.  Raising assessments in an appreciating real estate market is the only realistic way to minimize the annual I.D.O.R. factors.  The other part of the real estate tax system that get less attention is over levying by the taxing bodies listed on your tax bill.  If the taxing bodies were not spending money a tax bill would be zero.  Obviously the taxing bodies do need money to provide services to the community.  It is up to the each taxing body elected officials to determine how much their levy (the money from the real estate tax system) should increase each year.  The October and November public meetings is generally when the Levy is being decided each year.

            August 2022 the assessment change notices will be sent by Will County.  This starts a thirty-day period to file an assessment appeal.  The appeal deadline for the 2022 assessments will be within the first two weeks of September 12, 202.  If you believe your property is over assessed I encourage you to speak to me about it.  If we cannot agree the appeal process is available to you.  The appeal forms are available on the Will County Web type www.willcounty.soa click on Will County Board of Review scroll down to the appropriate form example Residential Appeal Form and Residential Appeal Form Instructions.

           The Will County Board of Review may lower an assessment if the evidence presented is more persuasive than the evidence submitted by the assessor because at this point in the tax cycle the limitation of the equalization factor discussed above does not apply.  At this time the assessor and the Will County Board of Review are only dealing with an individual property rather than doing mass appraisal. 

           I can only provide assessment relief when the facts according to real estate assessment practices indicate an additional adjustment is needed.  The Manhattan Township Assessor’s Web Site is available so all can have an anonymous transparent view of all assessments.  Even if a person does not understand every detail of the assessment process they can review the results and call me when they have questions.   Anyone can appeal the assessment on their property before the Will County Board of Review.  It is just part of the assessment process that gives everyone the right to seek another opinion based on a set of facts they present.     

                                                            Sincerely
                                                                        Joseph R. Oldani