DuPage critics speak against assessment cap

By Robert Sanchez Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted 8/19/2004

Vocal opposition to a possible property assessment cap for DuPage County is getting louder.

Residents, township assessors and business leaders are working to convince a county board panel that a proposed 7 percent cap on residential property assessments is "absolutely positively the wrong thing to do."

No one attending the panel's Wednesday night meeting in Wheaton spoke in favor of the cap, which is an optional part of a new state law.

"This is a very bad piece of legislation," said Mike Skarr, president and chief executive officer of the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce. "It should have never left Springfield.

"We are counting on all of you to do the right thing in this case," Skarr said.

DuPage County's board has less than six months to decide whether to adopt the 7 percent assessment cap for a three-year period.

The ad hoc committee exploring the cap proposal is slated to meet again on Sept. 7. It's expected to make its recommendation sometime after that discussion.

County Clerk Gary King is predicting DuPage leaders eventually will opt against the 7 percent cap.

"There's no reason for it," King said. "It hurts more people than it helps."

King reiterated his belief that only 5 percent of DuPage's homeowners would see a significant tax break if the county board adopts an assessment cap.

To get those tax breaks, King said other taxpayers would have to make up the difference because an assessment cap doesn't lower the total amount of revenue collected by the taxing bodies.

It just rearranges who pays for it, he said.

Supporters of the assessment cap argue the tax burden would shift more toward businesses and landlords, whose properties wouldn't be protected by the assessment cap.

But Skarr said that would have a negative impact on economic development in the area.

And, assessors say, DuPage doesn't have enough businesses to absorb all the cost of giving some homeowners tax breaks. So they are predicting a jump in tax rates.

That could mean bigger property tax bills for the owners of lower-priced homes and seniors who have their property assessments frozen.

DuPage County's review of the assessment cap comes after suburban assessors reported large increases in home values.

Even though the state-mandated property tax cap limits the amount many governments can levy, rising assessments often mean higher tax bills, anyway.