New tax multipliers
A multiplier is a factor used to raise or
lower assessed values in each county so that
they will be at the same level statewide. It can
have the effect of raising or lowering tax bills
and also revenues available to schools and
other local governments. Property is to be assessed for tax purposes
at one-third of actual value under Public Act
79-703 passed last year. Formerly property
was to be assessed at 50 per cent of value.
This change applies to assessments made in
1975 and will be reflected in tax bills this
year. To avoid a disruptive effect, a three-year period is allowed for phasing in the change. In the past, DLGA has been sued for its
failure to equalize assessments to the 50 per
cent level (see June 1975, p. 176 ff, and
November 1975, p. 341 ff). But Maurice W. Scott, executive vice president of the
Taxpayers' Federation of Illinois, says his
organization's examination of the new
multipliers shows that DLGA is making an
effort to obey the new law. Counties where
the assessment level was below 33 1/3 per
cent are being gradually brought up to that
level, and in counties above the new level, no
changes are made. It is anticipated that
inflation of property values will bring their
assessments into line with the new level in the
next three years, he said. Property tax payments are due June 1 and
September I downstate and March 1 and
August 1 in Cook County, providing tax bills are out on time.
FINAL multipliers to equalize property tax
assessments were issued to 13 counties by
March 4, and the Department of Local
Government Affairs [DLGA] expected that
multipliers for all counties would have gone
out by the end of April. Final multipliers are
issued following departmental hearings on
tentative multipliers which were issued earlier.
|
Correction: Alcohol-related highway deaths
"ALCOHOL PLAYS a major role in highway accidents with at least 300,000 deaths resulting each year" (March, p. 14). The figure should have been 30,000, not 300,000. |
Straws in the wind
Prison farming: Because most inmates of
the state's correctional system are city-bred
and not skilled in farm operations, and
because of the high cost of farm machinery,
fertilizer and seed, prison farms at eight
institutions are being discontinued. The land
is to be leased to private farmers. Only the
beef and swine herds at the Menard and
Vandalia correction centers in southern
Illinois will be retained to provide meat for state institutions.
New, oil field: Near Oconee (pop. 218) in Shelby County, a well drilled to a depth of 3,139 feet for an initial production of 20 barrels of oil and 20 barrels of water per day was announced by the State Geological Survey as marking discovery of a new oil field.
Chlorination: Almost 200 public water systems in Illinois are not adding chlorine despite warnings from the state's Environmental Protection Agency. Operators of these systems were warned in February to comply or face action by the Pollution Control Board.
State debt: The bonded debt of the state and its agencies totaled $3.88 billion at the close of fiscal 1975, State Comptroller George W. Lindberg announced. Debt service (principal retirement and interest) is now costing the state more than$100 million a year.
Supercomputer: The largest computer which Honeywell Information Systems, Inc., has installed outside the federal government is now handling driver and motor vehicle information for the Secretary of State Michael J. Hewlett, as announced in mid-February. The new system links up with the state's law enforcement computer network to help combat mobilized crime. The system also serves needs of the state library, provides legislative information, and keeps office records.
More coal: An estimated 14.6 billion ton coal resource in a 6,000 square mile area around Fairfield in Wayne County, consisting of all or parts of 17 counties, is reported by the State Geological Survey (Circular 489). This is a part of the Herrin Coal seam that lies so deep it has seldom been mined. Total coal reserves in Illinois are estimated around 150 billion tons.
Mass transit: Grants of $12.2 million by the state will help buy 150 suburban buses, 70 commuter coaches and 21 new diesel locomotives and will help build 364 bus stop shelters in the Chicago metro area, Gov. Dan Walker announced in February.
Leftovers: Auto license plates cost the state 54 cents each. Because of the slump in new car sales last year, the state wound up with 200,000-300,000 unused plates. Use of single plates per vehicle, or semipermanent plates, could reduce future losses of this kind.
Attorney General Opinions
Limitations on appropriations
OLD BILLS, incurred in a previous fiscal
year, cannot be paid out of appropriations
for a new fiscal year, but must go to the
Court of Claims, Attorney General William
J. Scott advised. He also said that when a
function is transferred from one agency to
another, the unexpended portion of the
original agency's appropriation is shifted
too. However, unpaid bills incurred by the
original agency do not shift to the new
agency, but — if unpaid at the time the
appropriation is shifted — must go to the
Court of Claims. The inquiry related to a
transfer of authority for administering the
veterans' scholarship programs from the
Scholarship Commission to the Veterans'
Commission, but the attorney general
declined to review specific actions of the two
agencies.
S-1053 to Rep. Thaddeus S. Lechowicz,
chairman. House Appropriations Committee, 3/3/76
Opinions in brief
Absentee ballots, S-1051: The county
clerk must mail absentee ballots to voters
when they do not appear in person; he
cannot require them to apply in person.
Qualifying newspaper, S-1050: The Trib, a newspaper circulated as an insert in the Chicago Tribune, qualifies as a secular newspaper of general circulation for the purpose of publishing legal notices in DuPage County.
Soil conservation, S-1052: A soil and water conservation district qualifies for an appropriation not to exceed $5,000 from a county board.
Featured in Future Issues
Workman's Compensation / J. Huisinga
Whither state audits? / Burnell Heinecke
State assistance for handicapped / Pam Bruzan
Local liquor licensing / Matthew Cappellini
28 / May 1976 / Illinois Issues