One of the most-Frequently Asked Questions about property-tax bills — a popular topic this time of year — is “why is my tax bill going up,” and in some cases, “why is my bill going down?” This year is extraordinary in part because it’s the first time in recent memory and possibly that last time we’ll see the average property-tax bill actually dropping for Kane County residents.

Because Kane County distributes the bills, there’s sometimes a misconception that the county is the sole reason for any property-tax increase or decrease, and that’s simply not the case. The Kane County portion of your tax bill is less than 4.5 percent. The Kane County Forest Preserve District accounts for a little more than 3 percent of your total bill.

The biggest chunk, of course, goes to public schools. According the Property-Tax-Bill FAQs pdf put out annually by the offices of Kane County Supervisor of Assessments Mark Armstrong, Kane County Clerk Jack Cunningham and Kane County Treasurer David Rickert, school district on average account for 68.2 percent of your bill, depending on what school district you’re in.

The information is much easier to read in the PDF, so my advice is to click on the link. But the same info appears below.

It’s important to note that the levy is the amount of revenue a school district receives from property taxes — and an increased levy does not necessarily mean your tax bill will go up.

In Batavia School District 101, for example, the district got a windfall this year from the retirement of the Premium Outlet Mall’s tax-increment-financing (TIF) district. Batavia has projected about a $28 average decrease for its portion of residents’ tax bills, even though the levy is 8.96 percent higher than it was a year ago. (You can read more about that here, on the Batavia School District website.)

In general, though, the chart below does give you an idea of which districts are holding the line on spending, and in most cases, that’s a factor that affects how much your tax bill goes up or down.

Q: Did my school district increase its property tax levy over last year?
A: The answer varies by district; please see the following data:

SCHOOL DISTRICT  / 2012 LEVY (2013 TAX BILL) / 2013 LEVY (2014 TAX BILL)

• Barrington School District 220*   /  $122,040,839.54   /  $123,633,004.09   /  1.30%
• Batavia School District 101   /  $65,880,224.36   /  $71,783,766.63   /  8.96%
• Central School District 301*   /  $41,189,490.67   /  $42,983,967.19   /  4.36%
• Dundee-Crown School District 300*   /  $170,028,596.13   /  $172,913,528.70   /  1.70%
• East Aurora School District 131   /  $37,825,627.99   /  $37,924,446.22   /  0.26%
• Elgin School District U46*   /  $298,197,519.54   /  $292,520,959.33   /  -1.90%
• Geneva School District 304   /  $78,466,343.06   /  $80,031,043.14   /  1.99%
• Hinckley School District 429*   /  $8,674,111.82   /  $8,913,893.98   /  2.76%
• Huntley School District 158*   /  $60,788,148.93   /  $63,490,361.63   /  4.45%
• Kaneland School District 302*   /  $49,926,107.47   /  $51,186,779.23   /  2.53%
• Oswego School District 308*   /  $125,779,850.20   /  $126,594,976.80   /  0.65%
• St Charles School District 303*   /  $154,438,492.98   /  $158,898,164.75   /  2.89%
• Sycamore School District 427*   /  $28,844,448.04   /  $29,397,605.69   /  1.92%
• West Aurora School District 129   /  $82,963,722.42   /  $84,824,123.76   /  2.24%
• Yorkville School District 115*   /  $51,293,459.45   /  $53,308,164.03   /  3.93%

* Portion of district located outside of Kane County; total levy may be based on
estimated equalized assessed values in those counties and subject to revision
upon establishment of Department of Revenue Equalization Factor.

Source: Kane County Clerk

For Information about how these tax levies were determined, please contact the school
district that developed the levy ordinance (see phone number listed below):

School District / Telephone 

Barrington School District 220:  (847) 381-6300
Batavia School District 101: (630) 406-8257
Central School District 30:  (847) 464-6005
Dundee-Crown School District 300: (847) 551-8300
East Aurora School District 131: 630) 299-5550
Elgin School District U46: (847) 888-5000
Geneva School District 304: (630) 463-3000
Hinckley School District 429: (815) 286-7578
Huntley School District 158: (847) 659-6158
Kaneland School District 302: (630) 365-5100
Oswego School District 308: (630) 636-3080
St Charles School District 303: (630) 513-3030
Sycamore School District 427: (815) 899-8100
West Aurora School District 129: (630) 844-4400
Yorkville School District 115: (630) 553-4382