Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tax Administration topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Kane County treasurer details tax-bill verification, staff disruption after First Amendment audit and investment pressures
Summary
Treasurer Christopher J. Lawson told the Public Service Committee the county is testing accuracy on nearly 200,000 tax bills before printing, described a disruptive First Amendment auditor visit that cost staff time, and outlined investment changes and a drop in savings balances that reduced interest income.
Christopher J. Lawson, Kane County treasurer, told the Public Service Committee on April 17 that the county is in the final testing stage of preparing tax bills for roughly 200,000 parcels and is taking extra precautions to avoid printing errors.
"It's about printing accurate tax bills, to those, 200,000 taxpayers," Lawson said, describing extensive cross-checks among the treasurer, county clerk and supervisor of assessments and the use of sample bills from the printer and from DevNet to confirm accuracy. He said the clerk's office provided 63 sample tax bills that covered the 16 townships and special service areas for comparison.
Why it matters: Errors on any field can produce incorrect bills and trigger costly corrections to hundreds of taxpayers. Lawson said staff are running comprehensive verification steps before sending bills to the printer.
Lawson also described a disruptive visit by a person identifying as a First Amendment auditor to Building A on April 16 that interrupted public-facing office work. He said sheriff deputies and a sergeant responded, and staff lost productive time while the incident was handled. "I put in a couple of calls this morning ... my staff is disoriented now by that experience. We lost a whole half day's work," Lawson said, adding that one employee later took a sick day.
On investments, Lawson summarized changes to the county's investment management approach and the effect of lower cash balances on interest income. He said the county replaced a broker-based suitability standard with a fiduciary standard and engaged professional managers. He reported that county cash savings are down by about $21 million from a year earlier and that lower cash balances and the shift in interest rates have reduced interest income available to the budget. "We are about $21,000,000 less in the savings accounts than a year ago at this time," Lawson said.
Committee members asked whether the county can move from mailed tax bills to emailed notices. Lawson and other officials said a property tax code provision allows emailed notices only if the county board adopts an email-provision policy and each taxpayer provides a written opt-in; he added that no Illinois county has adopted the practice because the opt-in and administrative steps make it cumbersome.
The committee did not take action on policy changes; Lawson said the treasurer and other offices will follow guidance from the state's attorney on security and notice procedures.
Ending: Lawson said staff will continue the verification and that the treasurer will provide a fuller investment update at the finance committee next week.
