Understanding Property Taxes: How They Are Used To Benefit Residents

Understanding Property Taxes: How They Are Used To Benefit Residents

In Illinois, local governments decide how much money they need to collect from taxes to fund community services, with different limitations depending on the type of government. This request for money is called a tax levy. Property taxes help pay for direct and indirect services that benefit entire communities, with each property owner contributing based on the value of their property.

For some governments property tax revenue is their main or only source of funding and is used to pay all the costs required to operate and provide those services. Many taxing bodies like SDD only fund a small amount of their expenses with property tax revenue.

SDD uses its portion of the property tax received in several ways that benefit the entire community. This includes debt payments incurred for large infrastructure improvements, paying for smaller capital improvement projects and disinfection of wastewater for protection of public waterways.  All other expenses of SDD are paid with money generated from user fees based on how much water is used by each customer.

In Illinois, the property tax process takes about two years. Local governments submit their tax levy requests to the county by late December. The county then uses this levy and the total value of all properties to figure out the tax rate.

The total tax rate is the sum of the rates from all governments that provide services to your property. Since Illinois has many overlapping governments, your tax rate might differ from your neighbor’s if your properties fall under different government boundaries. Property taxes are then paid in two installments the year after the assessment. So, for example,  taxes on property assessed in 2024 will be paid in 2025.

If you want to learn more about the Illinois Property Tax Cycle here’s a good link. Property Tax Cycle (PTAX-1004)

A common question we are asked is: “Why someone not connected to the sewer system pays property tax to the SDD”

There are two main reasons.

Firstly, all property and residents in the district benefit either directly or indirectly from the services provided by SDD. There are many examples of taxing districts that may or may not be used directly by residents but provide a benefit to the entire community such as school districts and fire protection districts.

Sanitary districts were established to address water pollution and limit waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid and dysentery which is a benefit for everyone in the community. Before SDD was established, human, livestock, industrial, and slaughterhouse waste were disposed directly into the Sangamon River with the hope that the flow of the river would move the waste somewhere else.

In July of 1917 Illinois established the first downstate sanitary district law. SDD was formed three months later with the initial boundary set as the whole of Decatur Township. Since its establishment in 1917 the boundary for the District has expanded through annexation to include Mount Zion, Forsyth and portions of other townships in Decatur. SDD also provides services to Argenta and Oreana through non-contiguous service agreements. When a property is annexed, the owners pay an annexation fee to offset the investment that earlier property owners already made. These funds can also be used to expand the collection system. If you are paying taxes to SDD your property was either part of the original district or annexed. SDD only accepts voluntary annexations, so a previous property owner asked SDD to annex your property. The good news if your property has been annexed but sewer service is not currently available, you do not need to pay the current annexation fee if sewer service is ever extended to your property.

Secondly, SDD accepts waste from private septic pumpers and haulers. All waste haulers working in Macon county dispose of the waste at SDD. This means that even though your septic tank is not directly connected to a sewer your waste is still being treated by SDD when your septic tank is cleaned. SDD typically receives a fee for this service of $15 per load and is less than one month of service for the typical home connect to the sewer system and much more concentrated.

Whether you benefit directly or indirectly, the taxes you pay provide a  benefit to the communities where we live.  Safeguarding the taxes we receive each year and spending those dollars wisely to maximize our benefit to the community is a critical part of  our mission at the Sanitary District of Decatur.