Monroe County property tax rates for 2023 along with payment deadlines for those taxes payable in 2024 have been processed by the treasurer’s and county clerk’s offices and were mailed late last week.

Monroe County Treasurer Kevin Koenigstein reported tax bills for county residents are in the mail.

Continuing the trend of the past few years, due dates for the 18,569 Monroe County property tax bills once again are in November and December. 

Another trend which continues this year is the total amount of taxes collected for all taxing bodies in Monroe County being up by just over $4 million.

The amount of property taxes Monroe County will be collecting in 2024 among its various districts is $73,689,550.32 compared to $69,490,119.16 last year and just over $65 million collected in 2022.

The school districts in Waterloo and Columbia once again accounted for over half of the total increase in taxes collected compared to the previous year. The Waterloo School District levied an additional $1.76 million for Fiscal Year 2023, with the Columbia School District requesting about $880,000 more than the previous year.

The tax rate for all school districts is lower than last year. The school district tax rate for both Waterloo and Columbia is down .18 percent, with Valmeyer’s district rate down .21 percent.

Of all property taxes collected in Monroe County this year, over $48 million – 65.6 percent – will go to school districts.

The Waterloo School District requested $25.88 million for FY23 and Columbia levied $17.59 million. Valmeyer will get $3.5 million from property taxes, with the Red Bud and New Athens school districts requesting $1.1 million and $202,000, respectively, of the Monroe County property tax intake.

The Monroe County share of total taxes collected is $8.6 million, only a slight increase from last year.

Other taxing entities receiving over $1 million in property taxes are as follows:

Southwestern Illinois College District 522 ($4.87 million); City of Columbia ($3.1 million); City of Waterloo ($1.7 million); Waterloo Fire District ($1.25 million); and Columbia Fire District ($1.17 million).

Those totals are similar to last year’s, with the City of Columbia having the largest increase at about $150,000.

Monroe County EMS will receive $440,669. Funding for Columbia EMS is included in the city’s tax levy. 

The decreased tax rates are due to overall assessed value of property in the county increasing in addition to many taxing bodies having similar or only slightly higher levies compared to the prior tax year. 

Koenigstein estimated county residents could see the first tax bills arrive in the mail sometime this week.

Owners of taxable parcels in Monroe County will owe their first installment by Nov. 15 and their second installment by Dec. 27. 

Residents may pay their entire tax bill in their first installment, if they wish. 

Koenigstein also noted taxpayers are able to pay bills online at monroecountyil.gov.

He recommended using an “e-check” direct debit payment, which carries a $2 charge, rather than a credit card payment, which carries a fee of 2.35 percent of the total tax bill.