Kane County treasurer, Chris Lauzen, has announced the most significant redesign of the Kane County property tax bill in the county’s history, introducing changes intended to help residents better understand how their tax dollars are distributed and to improve how bills are delivered and tracked.
Bills reflecting the new design will be mailed to all 199,000+ Kane County property owners by May 1. The first installment will be due June 1 and the second installment will be due September 1.
“Let’s face it: The only way to make a property tax bill better is to make it lower,” said treasurer Lauzen. “I can’t do that. But I can increase transparency and accountability, and that is exactly what I’m doing.”
One of the most visible changes is the addition of a pie chart showing how tax dollars are allocated among school districts, municipalities, the county, and other taxing bodies. The chart is intended to give taxpayers a clearer and more immediate understanding of where their money goes and how different layers of government add to the total.
The redesigned bill also includes direct phone numbers for elected and appointed officials whose decisions influence the tax rates applied to each property. While the Treasurer’s Office is responsible for collecting and distributing property taxes, each taxing body independently sets its own levy.
The Kane County Treasurer’s Office will have outreach events to explain the “new and improved” tax bill and to address taxpayers’ questions. The new format is an approach that improves transparency and accountability. There is a modernized option to go paperless.
The events will be at the following locations:
•Thursday, May 7, 5:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., Sugar Grove Public Library, 125 Municipal Drive, Sugar Grove;
•Monday, May 11, 5:30 p.m. to 6 p.m, St. Charles Public Library, 1 S. 6th Ave., St. Charles;
•Monday, May 18, 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Gail Borden Public Library Elgin, 270 N. Grove Ave., Elgin;
•Monday, May 18, 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Gail Borden Public Library, 127 S. McClean Blvd., South Elgin.
For more information visit https://treasurer.kanecountyil.gov.
—Office of Kane County treasurer, Chris Lauzen