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DeKalb County, Illinois |
Frequently Asked Questions |
Check with the individual city
the business will be located to see what they require.
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Finance
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What is the County’s fiscal year? |
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Starting 1/1/2008, the fiscal year will start each
January 1st and end each December 31st. Before FY2008 the fiscal year began December 1st and
ended November 30th with the exception of FY2007 which extended to 13 months
ending December 31, 2007.
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How many employees does the County hire? |
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For Fiscal Year 2009, the County has authorized
549.41 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees. The actual number of employees is
higher, as many positions are part-time positions.
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How many paychecks do you write every two weeks? |
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Approximately 625-650 paychecks are issued bi-weekly which includes direct deposits and actual checks.
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Does the County receive all the property taxes an
individual pays? |
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The County receives only 10% - 12% of the property
taxes you pay. The rest goes to other units of local government, such as
schools, cities, parks, townships.
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Does the County have a Personnel Office? |
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No. Each office recruits and hires their own staff. The
Finance Office maintains personnel records for the County, administers the
payroll, and coordinates all employee benefit programs. Updated 11/10/2009
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Tax equation:
Tax levy ÷ Equalized Assessed
Value = Tax rate
Example: *$18.8M÷ $2.2B = $0.85
Tax levy:
Money a public entity asks for to operate
EAV: 1/3 of
the market value of property
Tax rate:
Amount paid per $100 EAV
*Expected
tax rate for DeKalb County fiscal year 2009 |
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What is a tax levy? |
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A tax levy is the money a public entity asks for to operate. It has to be
approved by the elected body each year.
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What is the Equalized Assessed Value? |
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It's what the township assessor believes the value of what your property
is worth. They'll do a general assessment every four years and try to look at
things in the interim as well. They look at similar sales within that
neighborhood and the general area. It's a testing of what the market is doing.
the whole process is extremely long. In the fall, assessment notices go out to
property owners. they have a period to file a protest. The board of review
hears protests.
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Tax levy divided by the Equalized Assessed Value equals the tax rate. The rate
is simply a calculation. That's just a projection. The actual assessed value
won't be finalized until the end of March next year. Rates are only a guess
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What does the government control? |
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The elected body doesn't approve rates; they only approve the levy. The only
thing the body has control over is that formula is the levy.
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For a homeowner, your assessed value is one-third of market value. If a
home is worth $210,000 on the market, it should be assessed at $70,000.
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State law says that assessments are one-third of market value.
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It's commonly known as the property tax cap law. The official name is the
Property Tax Extension Limitation Law. The property tax cap applies to the levy;
that's the part the public entity as control of. The three components of PTELL
are the cost of living or 5 percent, whichever is less; new construction; and
any referendums.
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Why is it the cost of living or 5 percent? |
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In recent years it has not reached 5 percent. This year, (08) it's 4.1 percent.
It could be higher in times of higher inflation, though it's been an number of
years since we've had that type of inflation. [The 5 percent cap is set] to try
to contain government spending to some degree.
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What is the COLA and how is it determined? |
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COLA is the Cost of Living Adjustment and is set by the federal government. They
release COLA numbers for different regions of the country.
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Each governing body sets their own levies to collect property taxes each year.
[In DeKalb County], each school district is going through a process of setting
their levy. All 19 townships are doing it, however many cities there are and
every park district. Every entity is going through the process. They have to do
it before the end of the calendar year. The total tax bill a property owner
receives is broken down as follows: schools, 64%; cities 14%; county, 10%,
Townships, 5%; parks, 4%; fire, 2%; miscellaneous, 1%
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What are the county's projections? |
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The EAV for DeKalb County is expected to increase by over 5.5 percent to $2.2
billion in 2009. This includes about $45 million (2.2 percent) in new
construction. The tax rate is expected to change from $0.845 to $0.85 per $100
of EAV.
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What does this mean for me? |
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The average homeowner in the county will see an increase in EAV of 3.3 percent.
This would take the market value of a $200,000 home to $206,600. Using those
changes in market value, the county property taxes for that property are
expected to increase from $563.24 in 2008 to $585.99 in 2009, an increase of
$22.75, or about 4 percent.
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A. GIS links
graphic data (like maps and photographs) with information stored in a database
(like street address, parcel number, etc.). In the simplest of terms, a
GIS is a computerized map with information or data linked to and
accessible from the map. The linkage enables users to "display" answers
to questions or queries. DeKalb County Government is developing an
enterprise GIS that will improve access to spatial information.
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Q. What
is GISWeb?
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A. Because of our department's name, we are often thought to
be a directory type "information center". Citizens who aren't sure where
to find specific information - or are not sure who to call - often call IMO.
Although that is not our specific function, we are certainly happy to do our
best to transfer callers to the appropriate office or to forward e-mail
questions to the appropriate office. We work for you, the citizens of
DeKalb County and we'll do our best to help!
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| Subject Index |
Q: What does Kishwaukee mean?
Q: Do you have Birth/Death/Marriage Records?
Q: Can you help us find an ancestor?
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Yes, we have family files, cemetery, newspaper,
obituaries, and census to look through.
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Answer... If you possess a Standard Illinois Teaching Certificate and it is due
to be registered, you may come to our office with your certificate and
register it for a fee of $25.00, which registers it for five years.
You must fill out a registration form.
If you do not wish to come in, please contact our office and we will
send you a registration form.
Then fill out the registration form and send it to us with your certificate
and the required fee. (We will
soon have this form available on-line.)
If you possess a Substitute Illinois Teaching Certificate, you must register it
for the life of your certificate (one to four years) at a fee of $5.00 per year.
You will also need to fill out the registration form.
You may either come to our office or register by mail as explained
above.
Answer...You must possess a valid Illinois teaching certificate.
If you do not, you must have earned a Bachelor’s Degree from a recognized
college or university.
Answer...See Regional Office of Education Substitute Page
Answer...
See Regional Office of Education Substitute Page
Answer...There are eight public school districts in DeKalb County.
Below are listed the school district central office phone numbers:
Genoa-Kingston CUSD #424 @ (815) 784-6222
Indian Creek CUSD #425 (Shabbona and Waterman) @ (815) 824-2197
Hiawatha CUSD #426 (Kirkland) @ (815) 522-6676
Sycamore CUSD #427 @ (815) 899-8103
DeKalb CUSD #428 (Cortland, DeKalb and Malta) @ (815) 754-2350
Hinckley-Big Rock CUSD #429 @ (815) 286-7575
Sandwich CUSD #430 @ (815) 786-6229
Somonauk CUSD #432 @ (815) 498-2315
Answer...There are five private schools in DeKalb County.
Below are listed the main office phone numbers:
Cornerstone Christian Academy (Sycamore) @ (815) 895-8522
Montessori School of DeKalb @ (815) 758-6822
St. Mary Elementary (DeKalb) @ (815) 756-7905
St. Mary Elementary (Sycamore) @ (815) 895-5215
Somonauk Baptist School (Somonauk) @(815) 498-2312
Answer...KIDS is a consortium of three Regional Offices of Education
(ROE)—Boone-Winnebago ROE, DeKalb ROE and McHenry ROE.
The KIDS consortium provides staff development to educators and
administrators in the four county area.
The web site of KIDS (which also includes a section on the DeKalb ROE) is:
http://www.kidsroe.org
Answer...The
web site of the ISBE is:
http://www.isbe.state.il.us
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