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In this issue-
Confused about how your recent property tax bill was computed? In this issue, we remove some of the mystery of the tax bill preparation process and explain how it works.
The 2017 village road maintenance program is in full speed and we present a link to the Village web site so you can see what roads are involved.
Our Senior Luncheon will be held on June 8 and everyone 60 and over is invited. It's a joint effort of the Newport Township Fire Department, Newport Township, and our Village. Details are provided below.
Don't forget the Freedom Farm event coming up this Saturday, May 20.
--Jim Zegar, Editor
jzegar@villageofwadsworth.org
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Property taxes made simple-
The property tax bill you received a few weeks ago is for tax year 2016. In Illinois, property taxes are a year in arrears. Accordingly, next year, 2018, you'll received the tax bill for 2017.
It all starts with the assessed fair market value of your property. I obtained the tax bill from a resident who lives pretty much in the center of Wadsworth. The assessed fair market value of the property is $211,131.
The next step is to calculate the equalized value. Simply, it's 1/3 of the assessed fair market value. For this property, the equalized value is therefore $70,377.
From the equalized value, there are several possible deductions, such as for general homestead, senior homestead, farmland, veterans, etc. In this case, the property owner is eligible for the $6,000 and $5,000 homestead and senior exemptions, respectively. These amounts were subtracted from the equalized value resulting in a taxable valuation of $59,377.
For this particular property, the tax rate is $9.665390 per hundred dollars of taxable valuation. You then divide the $59,377 by 100 to get $593.77. $593.77 times the tax rate of $9.995390 equals $5,730.02 which is the exact amount of the tax bill.
You might now ask how was the tax rate of $9.665399 determined. Honestly, it's a complicated process with two components and multiple taxing authorities wanting a piece of the pie, so to speak. For this parcel, there are 17 different taxing bodies including schools, pension funds, forest preserve district, road and bridge district, fire department, your village, etc.
Regarding the first of the two components, some taxing authorities submit a levy for fixed amount of tax dollars, say to pay the principal and interest due on bond issues. Your share of this amount is fixed, so to speak, regardless of your taxable valuation. That's one reason your valuation could decrease while your tax bill does not.
The same reasoning applies to the six different pension plans that you pay for. Generally speaking, there is a pre-determined actuarial funding requirement. Again, this needed amount of money is fixed, regardless of the valuation of your property.
Regarding the second component, other taxing authorities submit a flat tax rate that is applied to the taxable valuation. If your valuation goes up, your tax bill goes up. If your valuation goes down, the tax bill goes down accordingly.
Three parenthetical notes: First, within the Village of Wadsworth incorporated boundaries, there are different fire protection districts and different school systems. Therefore, not all Wadsworth residents will have the same tax rate of $9.665390.
Second, we at the Village are pleased to inform you that we did NOT increase our tax levy for this year by a single penny. We held our own and work diligently at spending wisely the tax money from your property.
Third, our area suffers from "gerrymandering", which is a maddening process of creating different local governmental boundaries with no geographical conscience whatsoever. This nightmarish concept was invented about 200 years ago in Massachusetts to achieve certain political advantages. It goes without saying that local governments within the State of Illinois have perfected this process.
And finally, for a bit of perspective, only $9.59 of this taxpayer's $5,739.02 tax bill went to our Village... the rest went to the other 16 taxing bodies. And we didn't raise your taxes.
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| Senior luncheon-
Come join us on Thursday, June 8th, at the Newport Township Fire Station on Caroline Avenue which is across the street from our post office.
It's FREE! It starts at 11am and is open to all Village of Wadsworth and Newport Township residents. Lunch will be served at 11am sharp!
In addition to a free lunch, there are short programs with useful information. Vendors will have short presentations about utilities and products that can make your life safer.
Everything is geared toward services and products for the health, safety, and welfare of senior citizens. There will be lots of door prizes in addition to your free lunch. It's very likely this could be one of the most important hours that you ever spend. It's all about your welfare.
To make sure there's enough food and handouts, RSVP by June 1 to Trudy Maatta at 847-336-1080. If you're at least 60 years old, you qualify as a senior! We hope to see you there. It's also an opportunity to see some old friends and perhaps make a new one or two.
Click
HERE to see the flyer.
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Road program-
We've commenced our road maintenance program for this year and it's a big endeavor, indeed. Work includes crack sealing, resurfacing, and some drainage maintenance. To see the schedule of roads affected, click HERE.
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Freedom Farm reminder-
As a reminder, our own Freedom Farm for Vets has its spring festival and pig roast this Saturday, May 20th. For more information, click HERE and this will bring you to a prior newsletter with all the details. Perhaps you'll have a chance to attend, have some fun, and help honor those who have helped protect us. It's a great family event.
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