Will County cuts tax rate by more than 3.5%
Brock A. Stein | 10/16/2015, 8:41 a.m. | Updated on 10/15/2015, 9:33 p.m.
Will County Board members approved a tax rate Thursday that reduces tax bills by more than 3.5 percent.
While the 2015 tax levy of $117,286,821 is $1.3 million higher than the 2014 amount, property owners however will see a 3.68 percent decrease in their tax bills because the tax rate is being decreased from .6433 percent to .6196 percent.
The tax rate is the amount a property owner pays per $100 of equalized assessed valuation. The tax levy is the amount of money a government asks to receive in tax money for the coming year’s budget.
The tax rate can decrease even when the levy goes up in situations where property values increase and/or more property — new homes and businesses — is added to the tax rolls.
The board also abated $129.4 million in taxes for a series of general obligation bonds sold between 2008 and 2015.
Budget Director ReShawn Howard said the approved tax levy was one of three options considered by the board, which included a $115 million levy recommended by Will County Executive Larry Walsh in his budget draft as well as a $118 version that would have factored in new property values as well as the consumer price index.
The final approved levy originated in the county’s finance committee and included new property valuations, Howard said.
Contact Brock A. Stein at Brock@TheTimesWeekly.com.
While the 2015 tax levy of $117,286,821 is $1.3 million higher than the 2014 amount, property owners however will see a 3.68 percent decrease in their tax bills because the tax rate is being decreased from .6433 percent to .6196 percent.
The tax rate is the amount a property owner pays per $100 of equalized assessed valuation. The tax levy is the amount of money a government asks to receive in tax money for the coming year’s budget.
The tax rate can decrease even when the levy goes up in situations where property values increase and/or more property — new homes and businesses — is added to the tax rolls.
The board also abated $129.4 million in taxes for a series of general obligation bonds sold between 2008 and 2015.
Budget Director ReShawn Howard said the approved tax levy was one of three options considered by the board, which included a $115 million levy recommended by Will County Executive Larry Walsh in his budget draft as well as a $118 version that would have factored in new property values as well as the consumer price index.
The final approved levy originated in the county’s finance committee and included new property valuations, Howard said.
Contact Brock A. Stein at Brock@TheTimesWeekly.com.
