County Assessor James Houlihan and one of the men aiming to replace him, Board of Review Commissioner Joseph Berrios, traded barbs yesterday in front of the Cook County Board of Commissioners.
Houlihan, Berrios and Board of Review Commissioner Larry Rogers are in the center of a controversy about a potential delay in when county residents will receive their property tax valuations. They testily barked at each other as each tried to explain how the other was fleecing taxpayers.
Houlihan accuses Berrios of delaying homeowners appeals so they would arrive after the Nov. 2 election, postponing potential voter angst over higher taxes. He said his office was on track in completing home assessments by May 7.
But Berrios, chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party, disputed Houlihan's claims.
Last week, he said the assessor was falling behind on assessments and wrongly appraising some properties. And yesterday, he repeated his claim that the slow completion of assessments would delay the receipt of property tax bills.
"If the trend continues, the board will have more work than we have ever had in the past," he said.
Rogers showed commissioners a series of charts outlining how some properties have gone up in value, despite a declining housing market. He said it was unfair to homeowners to charge taxes based on perceived higher values.
"What (property owners) are not told by the notice is that, in fact, the market value that led to those numbers has been increased," he said. He estimated that the market values have increased by about 50 percent from 2008 to 2009.
"We will not compromise the ability of everyday homeowners to challenge (figures) that arguably are not supported by what's happening in the market," he said.
Houlihan angrily countered that Board of Review was doing the bidding of property tax lawyers.
"The idea that the Board of Review was suggesting we were playing politics with the assessment notices was offensive, misleading and not helpful to the discussion of property-tax reform," Houlihan said. "They have undertaken, unfortunately, the work of the property tax attorneys ... that the property tax assessments were incorrect."
He called the claims "reckless."
County commissioners agreed the issue deserves close examination, and Commissioner John Daley, chairman of the finance committee, noted it's been years since property tax bills were sent on time.
"There’s no acceptable reason as to why tax bills should not go out earlier," said Commissioner Peter Silvestri. Commissioner Tony Peraica lamented the "political football" the issue has become.