Lemont residents who want some insight into how their tax bill shapes out can take a crash course this month, headed up by all of the village’s governing bodies.
Representatives from Lemont High School District 210, Lemont-Bromberek Combined School District 113A, the Lemont Fire Protection District, Lemont Park District, Lemont Public Library District, Lemont Township and the village will all participate in the event, which is slated for Nov. 30.
| If you go WHAT Joint tax levy informational presentation WHEN 7 p.m. Nov. 30 WHERE Lemont Village Hall, 418 Main St. MORE INFO Call the Village of Lemont at (630) 257-1550 |
In the past, each taxing body would explain its own levy at its own meeting, said Rose Yates, executive assistant for the Village of Lemont.
“The taxing bodies have never jointly made a presentation like this that I can remember, and I think it’s great,” she said. “The tax levy and its relation to the actual tax bill is a concept that is hard for the average citizen to understand.”
The goal of the evening is to help community members understand the complexities of the tax levy process. All the taxing bodies are participating in order to address any concerns residents may have about the levy process and their resulting tax bills.
“The tax presentation is a unique opportunity for Lemont residents to meet and ask questions of representatives from many taxing bodies in Lemont,” Library Director Sandra Pointon said. “We hope that together we can pool our knowledge and resources and provide our residents with a greater understanding of a somewhat confusing process through our presentation and handouts.”
Sandy Doebert, superintendent of Lemont Township High School District 210, is the brainchild behind the presentation.
“As a group, we recognize that the community not only wants to better understand the process of how public bodies are financed, but are also aware of that desire being heightened during these increasingly difficult economic times,” she said.
Doebert said working together to explain important elements, such as the tax cap, or the impact of the cost of living index on the revenues received by the taxing bodies, will be helpful to taxpayers.
“We sincerely hope that this presentation will allay some of their fears and clear up any misunderstandings about the impact on their taxes,” she said.
The evening’s topics will include an explanation of the elements of a tax bill, the tax cap, and the tax levy process.
Residents should note this workshop will not be held in lieu of the mandatory tax levy hearings that each governing body will hold in November and December. The intention of the event is to discuss the levy process, not to provide specific levy numbers. Those numbers will eventually be published and discussed at each organization’s levy hearing.
Residents who cannot attend the workshop may watch a rebroadcast of the event on Lemont Channel 6. To obtain the dates and times of the rebroadcast, call the village at (630) 257-1550.
