Yes. Milton Township down by .9625 and Bloomingdale Township down by .9313.

Damn near a 10% drop in EAVs. Hate to say: I told you so. Note that the "S of A Factor" [called "County Equalizer" on your tax bill] is less than 1. This makes it negative.

What this means is that the stinktitude of the housing market is FINALLY hitting the township assessor's spreadsheets.

Sit back, relax and strap it down - this is only the start. Watch for this number to decline year after year after year after year.....

Now, all taxing bodies will have to ask themselves:"Why didn't we see this coming? Is this a Perfect Storm or what?" BTN has been warning you, all along. Are you listening?

By 2013, the EAVs will be back to what they were around 1999.

Big question: Will the budgets be back to what they were around 1999?

Someone explained this to me awhile back and I don't remember exactly how it works but essentially it's that just lowering assessed value doesn't necessarily mean the taxing bodies are forced to take less. Maybe someone can explain it better but don't count on a significant reduction in your real estate tax anytime soon.

To oversimplify...

Taxing bodies first decide what they need (i.e., want).

The tax formulas are then adjusted to equal that amount. Meaning (for example), if the property values drop in half, the tax rate will be doubled. You'll still pay the same amount.

You are correct SIR! Although, there are legal maximums imposed on said rates.

To Ted's point: The taxing body asks for an amount of money [always more than the prior year, that's why there is a "tax cap" law!] and the County Clerk backs that into a rate.

Oh, and in my haste [and a few too many beers], I got the numbers wrong. Assessments are not "down over 9%". No - in Bloomingdale Township it's more like a 6.87% drop and Milton Township is seeing a 3.75% drop.

These numbers will continue to drop for the foreseeable future. Every year.

Eventually, many taxing bodies will hit the maximums, except.....ones with Home Rule. They can do as the damn please as far as year-to-year property tax increases.

Bio: I certainly am not counting on a "significant reduction in your [my] real estate tax".

People who own property and pay the taxes better get ready for the next few years, as values continue to decline but taxes not only DON'T decline, they might even go up.

The ONLY way to get a lower property tax bill is for the taxing bodies on the bill to ASK FOR LESS MONEY.

They won't do this because they are legally allowed to request "what they got last year", plus whatever tax cap controlled increase they can request.

Only when they hit some rate ceiling will they be legally forced to stop asking for more money.

That's likely going to happen within a few years - Max-Outs on the rates. Some local school districts are already at the legal maximums for some of their funds.

For years when people complained about higher taxes, the various groups who where dependent on those taxes would always shoot back with the argument that your taxes are a function of your homes value.

But now with home prices declining over the next several years that argument will not work.

While declining home values won't necessarily lead to lower tax bills they will limit governments ability to raise additional revenue.

Unfortunately for them their labor costs will continue to escalate, while property values decline.

Yes, the new property tax mantra being chanted seems to be - "We will keep taxes the SAME."

The same, eh?

That is true...and whenever the taxes are going to drop, they run a referendum for something because "it won't cost any more than you're already paying." Then, we get something new that will need staff, maintenance, etc...