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Posted: Monday, 06 July 2009 9:22AM
Desperate scenes at some county assessor offices
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CHICAGO (WBBM) - One county assessor describes the scene at his office as "worthy of a Dickens story." He's talking about the desperation of people looking to lower their property tax bills.
As homeowners watch their property values decrease, they're showing up in unprecedented numbers at their local assessors' offices.
They figure they shouldn't be paying the same property tax bill as last year if their homes aren't worth as much.
And in many cases, they're getting relief.
Most of the nation's large counties say falling property tax revenue is significantly affecting their budgets.
The assessor who said it's worthy of a Charles Dickens story is in California, and he says he's seeing a lot of people coming in asking when they can get a check, saying they need to feed their families and pay their bills.
But decreased value doesn't always lead to lower taxes.
It can be complicated.
A lot goes into figuring the assessed value of a home.
Here in Cook County, we're a year behind.
Meaning today's bills are based on last year's values.
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