The Knox County Board voted Nov. 24 to lower its property tax levy rate for the coming fiscal year, approving a tentative decrease of 6.8 percent. But officials cautioned that residents may not see lower bills because the final numbers depend on how the state values property in the months ahead.
Board Chair Jared Hawkinson said the levy rate approved Monday is an estimate based on preliminary assessment information. The actual rate will be set after the state applies its annual equalization process, which adjusts property values countywide.
“It could be lower, it could be a little bit higher based on the assessed values that they’re going to change,” Hawkinson said. “The levy — the 1.16433 — is the current estimation of what the assessor’s office and the treasurer’s office can come up with for the equalized assessed value. But in the next six months, we’ll get the true numbers.”
The tentative levy rate of 1.16433 is down from last year’s actual rate of 1.23765. Hawkinson said the county’s budget needs for next year were lower, allowing the board to reduce the levy.
“It just happened based on what we knew we were going to need, what we knew we were going to have for revenue,” he said. “We wanted to make sure that citizens were provided some type of relief for at least the levy percent that we can control and the expenditures that we can control.”
Even with the lower county rate, property tax bills may rise if property values change. Those values — the equalized assessed value, or EAV — are determined through a combination of local assessments, state formulas and recent home sales.
EAV represents the taxable value of a property after the state applies an equalization factor, often called the “multiplier.” Taxing bodies such as counties and school districts apply their levy rates to that value to calculate tax bills.
The board approved three vehicle purchases for the Sheriff’s Office:
The purchases were recommended through the Ways and Means Committee. Chair Brian Friedrich said the vehicles will support routine patrol, inmate transport and rural emergency response.
The board also approved a seven-year radio system upgrade, which will allow Knox County deputies and Galesburg police officers to communicate directly without routing calls through dispatch.
In other business, the board approved:
The board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Dec. 22 at Galesburg City Hall.
