Assessor
Lisa LaMantia
Office Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
Please call to confirm office availability prior to your visit.
Phone: 847-546-8880
Fax: 847-546-8884
Lisa LaMantia - llamantia@granttwpassessor.com
Angela Wold - awold@granttwpassessor.com
Ryan Hebert - rhebert@granttwpassessor.com
Deborah Boisen - dboisen@granttwpassessor.com
Kevin Schmidt - kschmidt@granttwpassessor.com
From the Assessor...
Beginning in 2019, all exemption applications and assessment appeals must be submitted ONLINE. The County has made this commitment to file on-line. My office understands this will create difficulties for some people, we will be here to help you through the process. Please call or visit our office if you need assistance filing your exemptions.
We welcome all Grant Township property owners to visit our office with questions. We will be happy to share information regarding the process of determining your assessment.
Responsibilities
The Grant Township Assessor is your liaison to the Chief County Assessment Office. The Township Assessor is an elected position (4-year term) The assessor must be certified by the State and meet continuing education requirements.
The job of the assessor is to value all taxable parcels of property within the township in a uniform manner, so all properties are valued at the same approximate assessment level. This creates a fair share spread of the real estate tax burden.
- Value all non-exempt, residential & commercial properties
- Visit, photograph and measure all properties in the township to continually update records
- Record all permits issued. Follow up & document any change in real property and valuation. Adjust assessments for factual errors in documentation
- Initiate Home-Improvement Exemptions (monitor qualifying properties for maximum $75,000 full market value ($25,000 assessed value) 4 year exemption)
- Record & analyze all real estate transfer declarations
- Monitor Homeowners Exemptions for owner occupied residential properties
- Assist in filing Senior Homestead Exemptions
- Assist in filing Senior Citizen’s Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemptions
- Assist in filing Disabled Person’s and Veteran’s Exemption
- Distribute literature concerning assessment and tax bill process
- Print copies of current or past tax bills
- Request tax bill address changes on taxpayer’s behalf
- Assist in filing & verifying agricultural/farmland valuation
- Cross-reference permanent real estate index numbers (PINS) and addresses
- Supply names and addresses for properties applying for municipal variances
- Represent Grant Township during assessment appeal hearings at both the County Board of Review and State PTAB levels
- Provide information as requested for Assessment Appeals
- Coordinate appraisals as required for large scale Assessment Appeals
- Educate property owners on the complex property tax system
- Offer free notary public for Grant Township residents
Appeal Period
You can not appeal your TAXES - only your ASSESSMENT
When you receive your tax bill, check the lower left hand section of you bill. Under Taxing Body, you will see the amount of your property tax paid to each taxing body and the change from the prior year is the increase or (decrease) in the amount payable to the taxing body listed. This is to show you where your money goes.
Typically we hear from many homeowners during the month of May who are unhappy with their property tax bill. My suggestion has been and still is to contact the taxing body with comments/questions so that they are aware of your concerns when they are working on their levy for the next year.
We do not determine or control the amount of property taxes you must pay.
Taxes are the result of spending, not assessments, and if spending doesn't go down, taxes won't go down either.
Property taxes exist because of local government spending. Taxing bodies schools, villages, townships, county, police and fire districts, libraries, park districts, ect. depend on property tax revenues to provided local services. Each year they submit a request for property tax funds, known as the "levy". The combined "levies" actually create the tax burden, while assessments simply divide up that tax burden in an equitable way. So if government spending and the "levy" requests do decrease, most of us will see no relief in our tax bills. In fact, if levies go up because of increased spending, tax bill can actually go up, even when assessments go down.
To understand why, we have to look at the basic tax formula:
Levy divided by assessed value = Tax Rate
The levy is the amount of tax dollars that your taxing bodies request. The assessed value is the total of the assessments in the taxing district. The Tax Rate is nothing more than the calculation: the result of dividing the LEVY by the ASSESSED VALUE. Taxes go up because Levies go up. Assessed values and tax rates are just the tools used to divide up the total tax burden created by the combined levies of our local taxing bodies.
Here is how it works - Our taxing body requests $100,000 (the Levy), and total assessments are 2,000,000. The tax rate now is .0500 ($100,000 divided by 2,000,000) If your assessment is 10,000 then your taxes will be 10,000 x .05 or $500. "If property values go down, won't my taxes go down?" Let's see...Our Taxing body is still requesting $100,000 (the Levy) but total assessments are 1,8000,00, down 10%. The tax rate now becomes .0556 ($100,000 divided by 1,800,000). If your assessment is 9,000 (down 10%), then your taxes will be 9,000 x .0556, still $500. Taxes didn't change - even though assessments went down - because the LEVY didn't change. The Levy drives the tax bill.
What if the levy increases but my assessment goes down?
The Levy is $110,000, 10% more, and assessments are 1,800,000, down 10%. The tax rate is .0611 ($110,000 divided by 1,800,000). If your assessment is 9,000 (down 10%), then your tax bill will be 9,000 x .0611 =$550. Up 10% like the levy, not down 10% like your assessment. The Levy drives the tax bill.
Generally, taxes do not go up because of increasing assessments and they will not go down with declining assessments. On an individual basis, if one assessment goes down substantially more than others, that one property owner may see more relief in their taxes, the tax burden has been redistributed. If one assessment doesn't change when most go down, that tax bill may increase - the tax burden has been redistributed. But, if assessments all decrease by a similar amount, there will be absolutely no change in your tax bill unless the levy changes.
Levies go up because local government spending goes up and taxes go up because Levies go up - even when assessments go down. Assessments and tax rates do not change the tax burden, they only distribute the tax burden that is created by the levies.
The only way to control taxes is to control local government spending.