Chamber Board Urges Local Taxing Bodies to Hold Levy Flat

At the September 27, 2022 Rockford Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors meeting, the board voted to adopt a resolution urging local taxing bodies to hold their levies flat, the crux of the resolution is as follows:

NOW THEREFOR BE IT RESOLVED that; the Rockford Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors hereby supports and recommends to the business community to strongly encourage its local taxing bodies in Winnebago County to work together to adopt priority of reducing or keeping their levy flat and thereby reduce the overall property tax rate.

As part of our mission to Lead Business Growth, the Chamber is responsible to its members to work to remove obstacles that could be a burden to a healthy business environment. Increased property taxes are a burden on our future talent pipeline, our current workforce, and businesses that are already suffering from inflation, wage hikes, and supply chain issues. Increased property taxes right now are just not good for business.

Here is the full resolution:

WHEREAS: The property tax is an important component of our overall structure of taxes that are critical to local governments. It can be a stable, consistent revenue source for local government services (including schools), and its high collection rate makes it a reliable pledge for debt and bond security, and;

WHEREAS: The property tax is also a highly visible tax, meaning that most Illinois property owners are typically aware of the exact amount of property tax they pay, because they are explicitly billed twice per year, and;

WHEREAS:  Retaining Illinois' highest-in-the-nation 9,000 units of local government drives up tax bills, contributing to property tax rates that are among the highest in the U.S. As recent as 2019 Illinois is ranked as having the second highest real estate tax rate in the country, and;

WHEREAS: Winnebago County has one of the highest median property taxes in the United States, and is ranked 151st of the 3142 counties in order of median property taxes; Winnebago  County ranks 80th in property taxes as a percentage of income and 29th as a percentage of property value, and;   

WHEREAS: A 2012 report by the Illinois Policy Institute study on property taxes since 1990 showed that residential property taxes in Illinois have grown 3.3 times faster than median household incomes, and that the residential property tax burden as a percentage of median household income had risen 76 percent, and if Illinois had frozen its residential property taxes in 2012, it would have taken 28 years for property tax levels to return to 1990 levels, and; WHEREAS: 2022 represents the year of the quadrennial reassessment may lead to higher property values, which can also influence property tax levels; and

WHEREAS: Business community surveys conducted by the Rockford Chamber of Commerce routinely find that taxes are consistently a primary concern among the business community; 

WHEREAS: The amount of dollars a taxing body seeks for their annual budget represents the annual tax levy, which then determines the necessary tax rate to generate that levy amount;

WHEREAS: An effort has been made by some local taxing bodies within Winnebago County to hold the line on their levy amount over the past few years, thereby having the effect of lowering property tax rates and saving taxpayers millions of dollars; and dies within Winnebago County

WHEREAS: to reduce or Winnebago A concerted, collaborative effort by all taxing bo keep their levy flat will lead to an overall reduction in the gross property tax rate County;

NOW THEREFOR BE IT RESOLVED that hereby supports an ; the Rockford Chamber of Commerce Board of in Directors d recommends to the business community to strongly encourage its local taxing bodies in Winnebago County to work together to adopt priority of reducing or keeping their levy flat and thereby reduce the overall property tax rate.