It’s hard to believe in this day and age, but the average Kane County’s property-tax bill will decrease in 2014.

According to an article in the Daily Herald e-edition, refinancing of bonds in Elgin and in School District U-46 saved a ton of money on interest payments, and along with belt tightening and flat or low tax-rate increases by government bodies in other parts of the county, the expiration of tax-increment financing districts and other factors, the average tax bill is projected at $6,237 in 2014 — down from $6,245 in 2013.

Kane County Treasurer David Rickert told the Daily Herald that the drop in the average bill is something he hasn’t seen in his 16 years in office and is an event unlikely to be seen again.

Kane County’s portion of the average property-tax bill is 4.5 percent — about the same in 2014 as it was in 2013.

Schools take the largest slice of the property-tax pie chart, and the slice is getting bigger. Last year, schools collected an average of about 66.5 percent of the property-tax bill, according to the pie chart on the Treasurer’s Office website. In 2014, schools will account for 68.2 percent, according to the Daily Herald article.

Of course, the fact that the average property-tax bill is lower throughout Kane County does not mean that your individual bill will shrink. Some residents will see higher tax bills, others will see reduced tax bills, depending on what taxing bodies are in your area.

These the pie charts show “where the taxes come from” and “where the taxes go” for the tax bills sent out in 2013.