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buying larger homes," he added.
Dunstan and Madison County Tax Assessor Deborah Ming-Mendoza say the true growth in cities' assessed values won't actually
be realized on paper from year 2005 onward due to the Illinois Legislature's passage this year of increases in the levels of
two property tax exemptions.
One of the exemptions, the general homestead exemption, effective Jan. 1, 2005, increased from $3,500 to $5,000.
The other exemption, the senior citizen homestead exemption, also effective Jan. 1, increased from $2,000 to $3,000.
Although only a small percentage of the county tax bill revenues goes back to the county itself, Dunstan says Madison County
has taken advantage of the spirited increase in assessed values of its cities - from Alton's 54 percent hike over nine years
to Highland's 78 percent rise - to hold its portion of the tax assessment constant.
"We're holding the line on it, and that's made possible by all the assessed value growth," he said.
Gary Niebur, mayor of Edwardsville, says the city's soaring assessed value is attributable to increased residential and
commercial assessments. Niebur says the numbers reflect a constant balancing act the city plays as it plans for continued
development.
"Five to 10 years ago, you would have seen a larger share of residential growth and a larger increase in those assessed
values," he said. "While that growth remains strong, the last few years it's been balanced by healthy growth in our commercial
(sector). We've been very fortunate. What I think that EAV (equalized assessed value) figure ($430 million in 2004) shows is
directly attributed to people's interest in our community, whether it be residential or commercial."
The city of O'Fallon's numbers paint a picture very similar to Edwardsville's. City administrator Walter Denton says there
are two primary reasons behind the municipality's 140 percent jump in assessed value to $424 million at the close of 2004.
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"The great reputation of our school system and the quality of life continue to attract residential growth and increase our
assessed value in O'Fallon," Denton said. "In terms of funding city services, however, we've got one of the lowest property
tax rates around - one percent. Sixty percent of our income comes from sales tax revenues."
Growth in the short run just doesn't pay for itself, according to Denton. "With new homes and schools coming in, versus
when the money comes in, in some cases there can be as much as a two-year lag," he said.
Columbia and Waterloo in Monroe County have also experienced significant increases in assessed values since 1995. Columbia
Mayor Kevin Hutchinson says the majority of his city's increased valuation come from residences.
"We had 84 new home permits a few years ago and we're on track to have close to 150 this year," he said. "The assessed
value numbers continue to increase, both in the number of homes and in the size of the homes."
The lot sizes for Columbia's new subdivisions have also increased, according to Hutchinson. He credits previous
administrations and current city planners for establishing guidelines to make the residential growth doable.
"They did a good job proactively to make sure that our water and sewer capacity is adequate," he said. "In anticipation of
this growth, we're setting money aside for expansion of our treatment facility and water storage. Right now our treatment
facility is operating at about 60 percent. What we're dealing with is manageable. We expected this growth. We knew it was
coming."
From 1995 to 2004, Columbia's assessed value increased 108 percent. Over that same time span, Waterloo's assessed value
rose 148 percent.
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