Lake County portion of property tax rate to decrease
The Lake County portion of resident and business owner property tax bill will decrease by 3% in 2020, county officials said.
The county received a notice of final budget recommendation from the Department of Local Government Finance, which includes the county’s tax rate, maximum property tax levy and net assessed value of property in the county for 2020, said Lake County Finance Director Scott Schmal.
Schmal responded to the notice, which was required by Dec. 23, stating there are no changes to the recommendation, he said. So, barring one more signature from the Department of Local Government Finance, the 2020 Lake County budget is all but final, Schmal said.
From 2019 to 2020, the net assessed value of property in the county increased from $23.2 billion to $24.2 billion, respectively, or by 4%, Schmal said.
The maximum levy increased by 1% from 2019 to 2020, or from $162.2 million to $163.8 million, Schmal said. The county requested approximately $1 million under the max property levy the state allocated to county, which is $164 million, a common budget planning procedure, he said.
The assessed value and levy increases result in the decrease in the property tax rate, Schmal said. From 2019 to 2020, the tax rate decreased from 0.7040 to 0.6832, he said.
The county has paid off debts without issuing more debts, so spending has decreased, Schmal said. The decrease in debt payments was further offset by the increase in employee salary the county approved for next year, he said.
“We didn’t keep up with the spending of the higher (property) value … therefore your rates reduced by 3%,” Schmal said. “The spending at the county is lagging the increase in value.”