Property Taxes

 Given the hue and cry over Walker's Bluff Winery's recent announcement they were closing the facility due to high property taxes, here a basic overview of property taxes in Illinois and how they are calculated. With some exceptions, property taxes are assessed at 33% of the fair market value and, if oounties assess the value above or below that amount, an equalization factor kicks in to adjust the value back to 33% .  If you are not happy with property taxes, it is not all the fault of the country board.

City Hall and Drivers License Offices

 Both Carbondale City Hall and the Secretary of State's Drivers License Facility on Old RTE 13 announced they would close for the foreseeable future, starting today. Offices are still available by phone and email but no walk in traffic.  Despite the increase in cases, I doubt very much that the state will announce another statewide closure of businesses. Too much negative pushback for a second round but it and the city can close the facilities under their respective control.

Incidentally, if you have not done so already, today is the last day to pay your county property taxes. 

School Funding

This week's State Week in Review is an interesting listen on the whys and wherefores of the recently vetoed school funding bill. One reason for the Legislature to hold off sending the bill to the Governor for his already announced veto was that, if negotiations had panned out between the two sides, the bill would have only needed an amendment to incorporate any negotiated changes, then the Governor could sign the amended bill. As it stands now, with the veto, there can be no changes to the bill.  If the House overrides his veto, the school funding bill goes into effect as written.

The discussion also points out that, although Gov. Rauner only mentions the funding for Chicago teacher pensions as his reason for vetoing the bill, his amendatory veto also made a lot of changes in the way payments to school systems are calculated. Currently, according to my understanding of the discussion, since they don't generate any funds for schools, TIF districts and property tax caps are not considered when calculating how "rich" a school district is for purposes of calculating state funding. Under Gov. Rauner's changes, the value of TIF districts and total property valuation in excess of caps would be considered when determining funding, meaning that even poor districts would now have access to much more valuation, at least on paper.

Residency Requirement Radius

Had a reader of the blog point out that, conveniently, the 9 mile  radius residency requirement for all city employees happens to extend just far enough to reach Carterville, where a large number of both city and SIUC employees live. The 9 mile radius also reaches Makanda, Murphysboro and DeSoto, all of which have lower property taxes and average house prices than does Carbondale.

Tax Increase

I see the city council is looking at a property tax increase to cover the projected shortfall. I hope that they look at the budget for staff .  From what I have heard, adopted a zero-based budget for city hall staff, making each position justify its existence, would not be a bad idea.

Sales Taxes and City Council

Still no cable broadcast of city council meetings, at least none that I can fine.  The council is supposed to vote on raising both the general sales tax and the hotel tax.

It is much easier for residents to support an increase in the hotel sales tax, simple because that tax is paid by visitors to the city, rather than by residents.  Only on rare occasions would a local  stay in one of Carbondale's hotel, though several local motels have become de facto residential motels, offering weekly and monthly rates, rather than relying on night by night clientèle.  Those using the motel as a residence will, of course, have to pay the higher tax, but said tax will not affect the larger population of Carbondale.

Similarly most residents will find raising the sales tax preferable an increase in the property tax, since the sales tax falls across all residents of Carbondale as well as those outside the city who travel here to work and shop. A property tax would concentrate the tax among a comparatively small sector of the population, moreso in Carbondale than in other communities, due to the roughly 70% of property in town owned by absentee landlords.  Most property in Carbondale is rental property, so any property tax increase would fall upon a comparatively small number of owners.

A sales tax increase spreads the burden out more widely, though it does fluctuate more than does a property tax and forces those who work here, but may live outside Carbondale, to help pay for municipal services they use when in town, increasing tax revenues beyond those which could reasonable be generated solely from residents (thought the argument that, since Marion's sales tax is higher than Carbondale's, we can more easily raise it seems somewhat specious to me).  The problem, of course, with the sales tax, is that it is regressive, taking a larger percentage from those with lower incomes than those with higher.  Arguably, property owners are significantly better off than the average Carbondale resident, roughly 66% of which lived below the poverty level in 2009, and could more easily afford an increase in the property tax than the average Carbondale resident could afford a sales tax increase.

Still, no mention of a property tax increase is on the agenda, so we shall probably see an increase in the motel tax tonight, as well as, after significant breast beating,  a sales tax increase.  Hopefully, the council enacts one with a sunset clause in it, requiring them to revisit it a few years hence.

Jackson County Map

Courtesy of Jane Adams, here is a link to the GIS Map site located on the Jackson County website.  You can use it to search for the owner of any parcel of land within the boundaries of the county.  So if you have a desire to know who owns the house you are considering renting or the palatial mini-mansion down the street, now you can find out, though there are some glitches and omissions on the site.

City Council Meeting

The City Council will meet on November 13 at 7 p.m.  Apparent "Plaquegate", as the Carbondale Times termed it in an issue last week, has proved enough of a burr under the saddle of several city council members that a ordinance outlawing the placement of plaques, statues, etc. without council approval has made it on the agenda. 

Also on the agenda, the extension of Carbondale Main Street's SSA (I understand that Herb Donow has been contacted regarding investments by CMS in the downtown area, including one signage grant to a tenant in his Island Building at 715 S. University).  Another ordinance sets more specifics for decorations and stones at Oakland Cemetery while a third will transfer a small plot of city property at the corner of Marion and Oak Streets to Common Greens to establish a community garden to raise fruits and vegetables for the benefit of the community.

City Council Meeting

City council meeting tonight.  It's a short agenda but an important one as the annual property tax levy is on the agenda. The Carbondale Public Library asked for an increase of $42,578 over last year's levy for the library, or an increase of about 5%. The total levy under consideration if just over $1.7 million, a reduction, if I am reading the ordinance correctly, of about $788,000 from last year.

Also on the agenda is re-authorization of the Downtown Special Service Area for another five years. The SSA generates, though taxing downtown properties, $40,000 for partial funding of Carbondale Main Street.  If approved, this would be the 2nd extension for the SSA.

Poll Results

Drawing any conclusions from the results of this poll by the Chamber of Commerce is just silly.  I remember getting it about a month ago and thinking the questions were a wee bit biased.  Of the 371 surveys emailed out, only 56 of them were returned.  Of those returned, only 22 of those said owned a home in the city of Carbondale.  If you are targeting businesses that might be affected, a better way to phrase the question would have been "Do you own property in the city of Carbondale?" as the city has a number of absentee landlords who would have responded differently (assuming they responded at all) to that question.

Be that as it may, only 6% of those responding to were actually affected by property taxes and could thus be expected to have a credible response.  Of those people who responded, 44 of them thought taxes too high, more than the total number of people who responded who said they owned a home in the city.  I see why The Southern only devoted a total of 3 sentences to the article.

Carbondale Property Prices

In a conversation lat week, the number of empty lots in Carbondale came up and the person I was discussing this with pointed out a major reason for the number of empty properties: pricing.

A large number of these empty lots are owned by people who do not live in Carbondale. They have either moved away or inherited them from relatives. The property is paid for, so aside from maintenance and property taxes, they have no costs associated with them. The owners can therefore sit on them, waiting to sell to someone willing to meet their price, and in most cases, that price is way too high for a prospective purchaser.

According to the person I spoke with, who is in a position to know, owners are asking $10,000 to $15,000 for lots the city estimates a value of $1500 to $2000. Demanding a price premium of 10 times the estimated value of your property is not going to entice any buyers, but since the owner has only minimal costs associated with it, there's no incentive for them to reduce the price.