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Property Tax Information
The 2023 budget reflects the constrained revenue stream of a non-home rule community that receives very little sales tax revenue and is highly dependent on property tax revenue. Non-home rule communities may only exercise powers expressly provided to them by state law. Riverside receives approximately 15% of your property tax bill, which equates to $6,709,233 in total. These property taxes pay for many services, including: police and fire protection, streets and street maintenance, maintenance of public spaces and buildings, and general administration. Another factor that affects the amount of the property tax levy available to fund essential Village services is the required annual contribution to the Police Pension Fund.
The Village of Riverside derives a majority of its revenue for regular operations through levying a property tax. Each property within the Village is assigned a value by the Cook County Assessor (incorporating complicated formulas, exemptions and limits).
Equalized Assessed Valuation
The assessed value is "equalized" through a multiplier established by the State to arrive at an Equalized Assessed Valuation (EAV). The Cook County Clerk's office takes the tax levies for each taxing district and the EAV of each property within that taxing district to determine the property tax rates. The Cook County Treasurer then sends property owners a bill with the total amount owed (EAV x total tax rate) to fund all the taxing districts covering the property.
This is a complex system with many agencies involved. Essentially, property owners pay a portion of the taxes to fund certain government agencies. Local governmental agencies, such as Villages and school districts, determine how much property tax revenue they need (within tax caps). The property assessment/EAV process determines the portion that your property owes. These two processes converge to determine property owners' tax bills.
Some residents may be confused if their real estate market value drops, but their tax bill stays the same or even increases. Remember that you pay a proportionate share of the total property tax levies covering your property. If every property's EAV remains the same (or increases or decreases by the same percent) you pay the same share; taxes would increase by the percent increase of the tax levies of all taxing districts.