Frankfort Township Assessor Paul Ruff wants help fighting tax protests from owners of commercial and industrial property.
Ruff recently asked the Mokena Village Board to contribute some money to pay for appraisals that could disprove claims that township assessments are too high.
His budget is too small to pay for such appraisals, Ruff said, adding that he also lacks a database that would provide information to fight tax protests.
The assessor said he is asking township taxing bodies to “do a little triage” and see if they can afford to fight off the most damaging threats to their revenues.
If the township doesn’t start defending tax appeals on commercial-industrial properties, more property owners will take the matter to court, he said, noting that the six appeals filed last year have increased to 30 this year.
“I think we’ve become a joke down here in Frankfort Township,” he said.
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Trustee Frank Fleischer said he does not want the village to be the only taxing body contributing funds.
Trustee John Mazzorana said possible gains do not justify the expense. “Spending $5,000 to $8,000 to save $2,000–that’s dumb,” Mazzorana said. “Just by doing appraisals doesn’t mean you’re going to win.”