IDOT considers express lane on I-55. See page 3. SPORTS
SCHOOLS
Suarez takes 19th in state
Preparing for College
Page 8 Page 5
T he Enterprise Your Complete Source For Plainfield News Since 1887
Volume 125 No. 14
www.enterprisepublications.com
Serving Will and Kendall counties
28 pages
Perilous Property Plainfield mulls rise in tax levy By Sherri Dauskurdas Staff Reporter
As property values plummeted following the 2008-09 housing collapse, many municipalities were left struggling to make ends meet, and homeowners found themselves stuck inside the walls of a house that was no longer worth what they paid for it. A common fix for the taxing bodies has been to raise the levy, the amount of property taxes a governing body asks the Will County treasurer to collect on its behalf to fund its operating expenses. The result is a higher property tax rate on residents, despite the lowered value of their homes.The argument is that villages and other taxing bodies will retain the funds needed to operate, and residents will pay about the same dollar amount in
INSIDE
Thursday, November 8, 2012
75 cents
Opinions............................................6 Community Events...........................8 Police Report..................................10 Sports.............................................13 Puzzles............................................20 SUBSCRIBE TODAY! — Call (815) 436-2431 or go online to www.enterprisepublications.com
taxes to which they have become accustomed. Plainfield officials are now considering that very option, as assessed property values in the village are projected to drop an estimate 5 percent, and financial officials project a tax need of some $5.1 million to keep things running. The actual property tax rate a homeowner pays is calculated as a function of the total of levies of all the taxing bodies-village, schools, library etc.- divided by the total assessed amount. The current rate is about 43 cents per $100 of equalized assessed valuation (EAV), already up from 40 cents in 2010. It’s been four years since the Village of Plainfield raised its own property tax levy. Village officials See TAX LEVY, page 2
k c i l c re he
& have
T he Enterprise
delivered to
yourdoor
everyweek! T he Enterprise Subscribe & Receive ALL the in depth
local news, sports, & event coverage
of Plainfield!