Illinois is known for having some of the highest property taxes in the country, but some landowners in Montgomery Co. are speaking out after their tax assessments went up nearly 1400%.
“It’s full of ravines,” Brandi Lentz said. “There’s not much you can do with most of the acreage that’s there.”
As the owner of a tract of timber Brandi Lentz is no stranger to paying property taxes.
“Last year’s tax bill on a 96-acre tract was $756,” Lentz said.
That won’t be enough to cover the tab in moving forward.
“I have a confirmation email from the Montgomery Co. Assessor that tract of land is going up due to a woodland assessment,” Lentz said. “That same tract of land is going to be over $10,000.”
According to Montgomery Co. Assessor Kendra Niehaus, the increased assessment is due to a 2007 state law that requires woodland tracts to be taxed at the same rate as homes: 33 1/3% of its fair market value.
However, that tax code wasn’t properly implemented in the county until this year.
“People are going to lose their property,” Former Montgomery Co. Finance Chair Megan Beeler said. “When you’re looking at a 1,500% increase, a 3,000% increase on property, we’re not going to have the ability to maintain and pay the taxes.”
Niehaus has stated that anyone who believes their assessment is higher than 33 1/3% of its value can file complaints with the Board of Review, but Beeler says there’s a flaw in the system.
“We’re being denied due process in Montgomery Co,” Beeler said. “The majority of our parcels do not have a township assessor. We don’t have township assessors in most of our townships.”
Niehaus recently proposed classifying the parcels as farmland if the landowners can provide evidence that they are working to enter their property into a number of conservation programs.
“All of those programs cost money to get into,” Beeler said. “You have to invest in the property.”
“I think you could see some tax sales and foreclosures if people can’t afford this,” Lentz said.
The Montgomery Co. Board of Commissioners is holding a special session next Wednesday night at 5:30PM at the Lodge on Main in Hillsboro, IL, to address concerns property owners have about the increased assessments.