Cook County officials should propose a $250,000 savings from the county budget and a commensurate reduction of real estate taxes in that amount. Here’s how:
Every year Cook County Treasurer Ed Rosewell mails 1.5 million first-installment tax bills.
Every year Cook County Assessor Tom Hynes mails 500,000 homeowner exemption postcard forms with attached certificates on which homeowners can swear that they occupy their residences and are thus entitled to exemptions for that year.
These two mailings go out separately, without coordination. The Cook County Board of Commissioners should arrange that the mailings be combined into one envelope. If the savings on 500,000 homeowner exemption certificates is 50 cents each, including postage and handling, the savings to taxpayers would be $250,000.
Each year, the assessor mails reminders because some homeowners neglect to sign and send the first white postcard back to him. Because tax bills grab people’s attention to a higher degree than postcard notices, some argue that including the homeowner’s exemption certificate with a tax bill would raise taxpayer awareness.
It is true that this new system would also send exemption certificates to properties that are commercial or industrial for which exemptions are inappropriate. Because Cook County is a home-rule unit that classifies property by use, county computers can be set to reject homeowner exemptions for those few commercial and industrial owners who might improperly certify that their buildings were owner-occupied residences.
