Understanding Your Property Taxes
Property tax in Illinois is a strange animal for many of our new residents. Some people who locate within the State of llinois come from states with low property
tax rates or no taxes at all. Needless to say, these new residents are rather shocked when they are informed about the rates in Illinois.
As community leaders, we often recommend that new residents take a look at the total tax picture when evaluating the cost of their property taxes. For example, Illinois does not collect personal property tax and our state income tax is low, making the overall tax rate competitive with neighboring states. Nevertheless, a $5,000 or higher property tax bill is a large pill to swallow.
The lion’s share (70.1%) of your property tax bill is attributed to the public schools. The Illinois public school system is primarily funded via property taxes with a much smaller and unreliable amount coming from the State of Illinois. For the most part, public schools in Illinois have few other sources of income. 
In O’Fallon, and in most areas throughout the State, the public school system is totally separate from city government. The school districts located in O’Fallon each have a separate school board with members elected to oversee the district. City officials do not have a seat on any of the Boards nor any decision-making authority.
Even though city officials aren’t actively involved in school district decisions, Mayor Graham and the City Council have always supported our great schools and will continue to do so. Our school districts continue to perform at an extremely high level while maintaining a very low cost per student rate as well as a competitive rate of pay for teachers. Test scores continue to be high and our students are accepted into some of the most prestigious colleges in the nation. It appears that these facts indicate that the residents of O’Fallon are receiving a good return on their investment for their tax dollars.
Next in line for your property tax dollars is St. Clair County who receives 13.4% of your property tax bill. The County provides judicial and administrative support at the court house and a limited amount of roadway support. For example, most of Lincoln Avenue in O’Fallon is a county road.
The City of O’Fallon receives only 12.1% of your total tax bill. For example, the City receives $500 on a $200,000 home with that money used to pay for street lights, police protection, fire protection, street repair, snow removal, library services and many other critical services. These dollars are not used to fund water and sewer services which, by law, must operate as stand-alone enterprise funds. In other words, users of the water and sewer systems must fund the maintenance and improvement of those systems by paying monthly user fees.
The final entity that receives your tax dollars is the township who collects 4.4% of your total tax bill. Township services include township road maintenance as well as services for senior citizens and the disadvantaged.
Now that you know where your property taxes go, the question is, what can you do to assure that you aren’t paying more than your fair share?
First and foremost, you must become familiar with your Taxing Information Sheet sent out each spring by the County Treasurer. The sheet lists the fair market value that the County Assessor has placed on your property. Before you do anything further, you need to determine whether you agree with that value. If you do not agree, you can, and should, protest the amount. The County will assist you with the property assessment appeals process, or you can come by City Hall where we have the forms and the basic information you will need.
When you have agreed with the County on a fair market value, you next need to determine if you are receiving an owner occupancy exemption (12th line down on the left hand side of your tax information sheet). You must apply for this exemption. It reduces your tax base by $5,000. In addition to this exemption, if you are 65 years of age or older you also qualify for the Senior Homestead exemption which further reduces your tax base by $3,500. Seniors who are 65 years of age or older and have a household income of $55,000 or less per year also qualify for a Senior Freeze. This freeze prevents your tax base from increasing as your home increases in value. An additional four year freeze option is available to residents of any age who remodel their home, increasing its value
up to $75,000.
Once you have taken care of your individual property tax issues, get involved with the elected officials of the various taxing bodies. Ultimately, it is the 19,421 registered voters of O’Fallon who determine what you pay in property tax. It’s the School Board member, the County Board member, the City Council or the Township Board that you elect who sets the tax rate.
Mayor Graham and the City Council are committed to keeping the City Property Tax rate low and has reduced the General Fund rate in each of the past eight years. If you have any questions about the City Property Tax rate or need help with a property tax issue, contact O’Fallon’s Director of Finance Dean Rich at 624-4500, ext. 1110.
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