From the equalized assessed valuation, there are many possible deductions, such as for general homestead, senior homestead, farmland, veterans, etc.  In this case, the property owner is eligible for a $6,000 homestead exemption, which reduces the $65,716 to $59,716.  This amount is called the "taxable valuation."

For this particular property owner, the tax rate is $9.3310 per hundred dollars of taxable valuation. To compute the total tax bill, you divide $59,716 by 100 and you get $597.16.  $597.16 times the tax rate of $9.3310 equals $5,572.10, which is the exact amount of this property owner's tax bill.

How is the tax rate of $9.3310 determined?  Honestly, it's a complicated process with two component parts.  In this case, there are 16 different taxing authorities to which this property owner's tax dollars go.  There are schools, county government, forest preserve district, road and bridge district, the Village of Wadsworth, etc.

Basically, each taxing authority tells the county how much it wants and there are two ways to do this.

First, some taxing authorities submit a levy for a fixed amount of taxes, say to pay the principal and interest due that year on bond issues.  Your share for this amount is fixed, so to speak, regardless of your taxable valuation.  That's one reason your valuation could decrease while the total tax  due does not or even increases.  The same reasoning applies to the six different pension plans that you pay for.  There is an annual funding requirement that stays the same regardless of what happens to your valuation.

The second way, or method, is for taxing authorities to submit a simple tax rate that is applied to the taxable valuation.  If the valuation goes up, the taxing authority gets more.  If it goes down, it gets less.

Just as a parenthetical note, in the Village of Wadsworth, there are three different fire protection districts and several different school systems.  Therefore, not all Wadsworth residents will have the same rate of $9.3310.  Our area suffers from "gerrymandering", which is a maddening process of creating different local governmental boundaries with no concern for geographical consequences so as to achieve some political advantage.  This nightmare was created about 200 years ago in Massachusetts.

And finally, only $10.75 of this $5,572.10 tax bill goes to the Village.  The rest goes to the 15 other taxing authorities with the majority of it for the school districts. (But note that if you live within the School District 56 boundaries the new Prairie Trail School has NO direct effect on your taxes just because it is located in Wadsworth.)

I do want to repeat this:  from the average one acre home in Wadsworth, the Village gets only about ten dollars.

Which is why we run a lean budget.

-- Jim Zegar