Cook County property tax bills will be due before the end of the year, board President Toni Preckwinkle announced Thursday afternoon, along with a plan to help towns, school districts and other taxing bodies affected by a months-long delay.
Preckwinkle didn’t offer a definitive date for when bills would be sent, only telling reporters that she was “confident that the separately elected officials will be able to collect and distribute property taxes by the end of the calendar year.”
But she hinted that there could be delays in future billing cycles.
The pledge means individual taxpayers will be able to “take full advantage of the federal state and local tax deduction” on their 2022 federal income taxes, she said.
But thanks to the late bills, Cook County cities and villages, along with fire, library and school districts, will have to wait to get property tax revenues that they use to pay for ongoing operations.
To help struggling districts make it through, Preckwinkle announced a new, one-time program the county will operate with PNC Bank to loan suburban districts money so that they don’t have to take on short term debt through a measure known as a “tax anticipation note.”
The second installment of the yearly property tax bills are typically due Aug. 1 and — with the exception of last year’s two-month COVID-19 delay — have not been this late for roughly a decade. Getting bills out on time was a key goal for Preckwinkle when she came into office, since late revenue collections can force taxing bodies short on cash to take on extra debt to cover costs.
The Local Government Bridge Funding Program could provide up to $500 million in loans to taxing districts. The county plans to limit the plan to $300 million, but could go higher depending on demand, officials said. The bridge program is only estimated to cost the county $5 million out of pocket, since the loans will be paid back with property tax collections. Interim Chief Financial Officer Lawrence Wilson said at a press briefing the cost will be covered by “positive variances” in the county’s 2022 budget: higher than anticipated revenues and lower than anticipated costs.
Applications will be open through the month of August, and funds would be distributed in early September.
County officials estimated that some 500 taxing bodies in suburban Cook County could be eligible, but must meet certain criteria to qualify. They must have less than 120 days cash on hand and a bond rating that’s lower than Cook County’s (A2 from Moody’s, A+ from S&P, and AA- from Fitch). Unrated municipalities are eligible, but taxing districts within the city of Chicago — including the city itself and Chicago Public Schools — are ineligible, as are so-called “paper districts” that serve as pass-throughs to pay for consolidated services.
The interest-free loans will be given to districts in the most need first, which will be calculated based on the same metrics the county used to dole out federal COVID-19 relief money, the district’s tax collection rate, school funding levels, and whether the district delivers vital services.
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Today’s announcement is the latest chapter following months of finger-pointing over the delay in sending bills. The blame game between Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi — who is responsible for deciding property values — and members of the Board of Review, the three-member elected board that adjudicates appeals to Kaegi’s numbers, kicked off when BOR Commissioner Larry Rogers first warned back in December that bills would be late. He said Kaegi was responsible, arguing the assessor had mismanaged his transition from a mainframe computer to a new integrated property tax system.
Kaegi shot back that the BOR was uncooperative during that transition, and was “playing politics” rather than getting on board with a transition that had been in the works since 2015.
Preckwinkle did not hold either responsible, but blamed a “combination of factors, including a global pandemic and the largest technology upgrade this county has seen in over half a century.”
That technology transition is incomplete, Preckwinkle and her staff confirmed Thursday afternoon. “There’s more work to do,” she said simply. A Preckwinkle staff member confirmed the Assessor still had work to do to complete the transition, as does the Board of Review, along with the County Clerk and Treasurer.
On top of the technology transition, the new round of property assessments in the north suburbs by Kaegi’s office also kicked off roughly three months later than usual.
Despite the delay in getting the latest round of assessments started, Kaegi spokesman Scott Smith said he expects valuations for the North suburban triad to be completed on the normal schedule, by the end of November. “Every person in our office intends to complete our work on time this year.”
Preckwinkle, Kaegi and Rogers are all seeking reelection this year and won their respective Democratic primaries last week.
