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Cook County Board Approves New Procedure for Public Comment at Meetings

7/27/2017

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Cook County Board of Commissioners Meeting – July 19, 2017

Significant Decisions Made:

A proposal by Commissioner Garcia to prohibit law firms handling property assessment appeals from contributing to election funds for any candidate for Assessor was referred to the Finance Committee. (Agenda Item 17-4188)
Passage of the new witness slip ordinance - Authorization to speak will only be granted to individuals who have submitted in writing their name, address, subject matter, etc. 24 hours in advance of the meeting. (Agenda Item 17-3293) Commissioner Suffredin publicly thanked the League of Women Voters and the Better Government Association for their support of this amendment to the rules of organization.
After extensive discussion and testimony of twenty south suburban mayors and presidents, seeking repeal of a requirement that all contractors working on Class 8 projects have a certified U. S. Department of Labor Apprenticeship Program, the revised ordinance passed with a 9 to 6 vote. The communities promised to work with the Board to revise the issue. (Agenda Item 17-4339)
An amendment to the Cook County Property Tax Assessment Classes returning small Bed & Breakfasts with no more than six rooms to Class 212. Two years ago the Assessor’s office had changed their classification to Commercial which dramatically increased their property taxes. Testimony indicated that owners live in all of the affected B&Bs as their personal homes. (Agenda Item 17-3303)

Significant topics discussed:

The Comptroller and his staff reported on some of the finances of the County. Sales tax receipts are down about $5m from projections and not likely to be recouped. This was attributed to online sales. The Clerk of the Court receipts are down about $1.4m due to a decrease in the number of tickets issued.
Comm. Boykin questioned Dr. Shannon, Cook County Health and Hospitals CEO, about increased costs to Stroger Hospital because of all the murders and gun violence. This was followed by a discussion of how Dr. Shannon made the ten percent cuts to his budget as ordered by President Preckwinkle. He indicated he cut 3 physicians, 21 nurses, and also cut contract usage and other related actions. He indicated that he had vacancies in other areas of the hospital and most of the laid off staff would be able to find other positions. This led to a discussion of vacant, funded positions that he still can use, and Commissioner Boykin questioning if all vacant position in the county are eliminated and all hiring is frozen “is there a need for a layoff”. The discussion ended there.
There was also a discussion questioning if the Comptroller’s staff still has to drive to Springfield to pick up the multi-million dollar checks from the State. He answered Yes, but they are still trying to achieve electronic transfer and eliminate the driving.

Other observations:

The meeting lasted until 6:30 p.m. This observer left at four p.m. The actual Board Meeting with the pledge and prayer began about two thirty in the afternoon having been preceded by several committee meetings. It was a “survival of the fittest" meeting.

Observer - Syvia Tillman Meeting lasted: 9:30 a.m. until after 6:30 p.m.

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Is the Cook County Property Tax Assessment System Fair?

7/23/2017

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Cook County Board of Commissioners Finance Committee Hearing - July 18, 2017

Purpose: To discuss the alleged unfairness in the Cook County Property Tax Assessment System - an issue recently raised in a series of articles in the Chicago Tribune.

County Assessor Berrios and five senior professionals from his staff testified in front of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Also supplying testimony were Christopher Berry from the University of Chicago, Robert Weissburg, and seven spokespersons representing various community groups from low income neighborhoods within the city of Chicago.

Assessor's Office Testimony:
Assessor Berrios and his staff testified regarding the methodology used to determine real estate assessments. The following points were made:

1.84 million pieces of property are assessed; there is no perfect assessment model.
$22.5 million has been recovered from exemptions that were made in error.
14% of homeowners file appeals; 7-9% had their taxes reduced.
The appeal process is free, open and accessible with no need for an attorney. There have been 211 community outreach events a year to coach citizens on how to appeal.
The private study used in the Tribune article was flawed; the press coverage was unfair.
Over a million evaluations are done utilizing 35 variables. A software package uses data to predict the value of a home.
The focus is on fairness and uniformity of assessments.
The Probit model (created from a $300,000 grant from the MacArthur Foundation) was found to have serious flaws. A purely mathematical approach is not reliable. Therefore, the office uses software initially, but then goes back through with a “hand check” to look for anomalies.

Initially, the assessor’s office agreed to use the Probit model developed by the MacArthur grant. However, they became dissatisfied with the results and stopped using the model. However, they did not notify the Cook County Board and President of the change. When questioned as to why they did not disclose this to the Board, they responded that the MacArthur Foundation paid for the Probit development, not Cook County.

Those testifying for the assessor’s office emphasized their high degree of professionalism and their dedication to do whatever they could to be fair and uniform in their assessments. Assessor Berrios called for an independent body to be created to examine their practices and to recommend changes that would improve the system.

Other Expert Testimony:
Christopher Berry from the University of Chicago and Robert Weissburg, an expert in modeling, gave a different perspective.

Berry stated that the tax system is neither fair nor accurate. Assessments are regressive, with lower priced homes being assessed at a higher rate than higher priced homes. Minority neighborhoods are consistently overassessed resulting in what amounts to institutional racism. Appeals do not remedy this regressivity. It is “taxation without explanation.” The “hand adjusted” method does not provide a transparent mode of assessiment.
Robert Weissburg also emphasized the fact that the system was highly regressive. In 2009 he served on the Foreclosure Commission that was formed at the height of the economic collapse. This is when the Probit model was developed. In 2015 the model was agreed to by the County assessor. However, in 2016, the Tribune found that the model was not being used. Neither the Cook County Board of Commissioners nor President Preckwinkle were apprised of this change.
Weissburg cautioned that the continued use of the current system may well result in liability for damages. The Board needs to fix this quickly and transparently. “Hand checking” is too subject to manipulation.
Public testimony emphasized the regressivity of the assessment process. Many low income homeowners lack the skills to work the system of appeals. Thus, it is the higher income property owners who benefit from the appeals process. The language barrier is yet another impediment to fair treatment.

Following the testimony, Board commissioners asked clarifying questions and inquired as to when the independent group would be formed and ready to begin its analysis of the current system. There was no commitment as to the date that would happen.

Additional Finance Committee Business:
Cook County staff came back to the board for a change order to receive additional funds for the Measurement & Maintenance segment of a $60 million contract already approved by the Board.

The Inspector General raised the issue of changing the scope of work after the work has been approved.
Several commissioners raised objections to this additional funding request.
However, when the Cook County staff was questioned, they found that all of the staff members who negotiated the original contract had left the County’s employ, and many of the answers to commissioners’ questions left with them.
Commissioners were obviously frustrated by this situation.
Contracts that go 20 years into the future are problematical because of the great turnover in employees.

While there was significant resistance to providing the additional funds, commissioners finally did vote to approve, with the caveat that this flawed process needs to be avoided in the future.

Observer - Georgia Gebhardt

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Cook County Commissioners ask for Assessor “Fairness” Explanation

7/3/2017

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Cook County Board of Commissioners Meeting - June 28, 2017

Significant Topics Discussed:

After a series of Chicago Tribune articles calling out the Cook County Assessor’s office for failure to provide assessment fairness between high and low valued properties, several Commissioners called for Cook County Assessor Barrios to attend a Finance Committee hearing made up of all board members to explain, defend, and take questions on the current process. One commissioner said he wanted the hearing held in July.

Nancy Marcus, Cook County League of Women Voters Co-President, testified that it is past time for the Commissioners to use the County’s Performance Standards in evaluating the elected offices, and the Assessor's office should be focused on doing accurate assessments in the first instance, and not opening up more avenues to contest property appraisals.

Issues Referred to Committee:

An Interagency agreement between the city and the county to require recipients of tax incentives to enter into an agreement to give the city/county first option to provide job applicants. Two commissioners felt it over bureaucratic and wanted more discussion. Referred back to the Workforce Committee.
The Cook County Health and Hospital System (CCHHS) wants to move its patient billing, call center, and public health employees from the Oak Forest Hospital System to the Holiday Plaza on the South Side citing savings of over $5 million per year. Commissioners noted that Homeland Security still resides in the current complex which could negate savings. They also expressed concern about the 10 year lease. The item was referred to the Asset Management Committee. (Agenda Item 17-3913)
Commissioners Arroyo and Tobolski asked for an executive session of the Homeland Security and Emergency Mgmt. Committee along with the Department of Homeland Security to discuss current security protocols at all County facilities and identify gaps and security issues.

Other Items of Interest:

As of June 30, the State of Illinois owes Cook County $170 million. It was $140 million at the end of April.

Observer: Diane Edmundson Meeting Length: 90 minutes

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Cook County Board Approves New Procedure for Public Comment at Meetings

Is the Cook County Property Tax Assessment System Fair?

Cook County Commissioners ask for Assessor “Fairness” Explanation

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