The much-anticipated property tax assessment listings for Monroe County have been completed and are included in this week’s publication of the Republic-Times newspaper.

The assessments were later than normal this year due to personnel shortfalls in the office of Monroe County Assessor Carl Wuertz.

About one-fourth of the county is reassessed every year, with districts 7 and 8 being the focus this year. These areas include all of Waterloo, as well as considerable areas west of the city and east to the county line.

Wuertz said property values for the cities of Columbia and Waterloo are up this year on average, but remain relatively flat for the rest of the county.

Assessments are based on the median property sales recorded in Monroe County over a three-year period.

Wuertz said there will be a 30-day period for citizens to lodge formal complaints about their tax assessments starting May 11. That period will run until June 10.

He said the next step is for the Monroe County Board of Appeals to meet and deal with issues raised by citizens concerning their property.  There is not a fixed time for this to be finished. It depends on how many issues are raised and how often the Board of Appeals can meet, Wuertz said.

The Illinois Department of Revenue then reviews the county’s figures to establish a final multiplier, if that is determined to be necessary.  The multiplier is a factor that is applied to taxes to balance rates across adjoining counties.

Last year, the county was issued a final property assessment equalization factor of 1.000.
Once that is completed, the assessments then move to the office of Monroe County Clerk Dennis Knobloch, where tax rates for individual tax districts are determined.

Once tax bills are calculated, they are printed and mailed.  As in recent years, this will be done by MAR Graphics in Valmeyer, where the bills will be printed and mailed at a reduced bulk rate, according to Monroe County Treasurer Kevin Koenigstein.

Property taxes are payable in two installments, with the first one coming 30 calendar days after they are mailed, and the second at least 30 days after that.

Citizens can pay property taxes in one payment on the first date, if they wish to do so.

To contact the assessor’s office, call 939-8681, ext. 211.