Property taxes: PTELL may get another look in Madison County

EDWARDSVILLE -- A Madison County group wants to give residents another opportunity to vote on property tax caps.

The group wants a referendum held on whether the county should enact Illinois' Property Tax Extension Limitation Law, also known as PTELL. But the organizers can expect opposition from school districts and other local taxing bodies.

If PTELL is enacted, taxing districts would not be able to increase their annual tax levies more than 5 percent or the rate of inflation without voter approval.

Madison County Board member Hal Patton, R-Edwardsville, is serving as spokesman for the group, called Property Tax Accountability & Relief, or PTAR. He said the group is conducting a petition drive in an effort to get PTELL put on the ballot.

Property taxes, Patton said, are a top concern for residents.

"I think it would pass overwhelmingly," he said.

But Madison County Regional Superintendent of Schools Bob Daiber said he thinks voters would oppose PTELL if they knew the full implications.

PTELL would "drastically restrict school districts' ability to raise revenue in a very tough time, budget-wise, in the state of Illinois," Daiber said.

Daiber said the state already is behind in its funding to some school districts in Madison County by as much as $1 million.

PTELL was on the ballot in Madison County during a primary election in 1999, and it failed by about a thousand votes, roughly 52 percent to 48 percent.

In St. Clair County, a special panel trying to slow property tax growth recommended in May against putting a property tax cap referendum on the ballot.

The St. Clair County Property Tax Analysis Committee, composed of local educators and political leaders, said in a draft version of its report that the proposed Property Tax Extension Limitation Law has caused program and staff reductions in other counties.

Daiber said if PTELL had been approved for Madison County, it would have cost some school districts as much as $25 million.

"It would have cost the construction of one new school," Daiber said.

He added, "I think residents want to maintain quality education in this county. Our education is directly linked to the economic prosperity that we have seen."

Daiber said he's putting together a presentation on how PTELL would hurt schools.

Patton said he wants to provide education about PTELL so voters can decide. He said the group's new Web site, www.4ptar.com, has information about how PTELL works, and the group is planning to hold a public forum on property taxes.

"I think we need to hold elected officials accountable. If this is a way of doing it, I'm in support," Patton said. "We need some kind of relief on property taxes."

Madison County Board Chairman Alan Dunstan said the income that county government gets in property taxes wouldn't really be affected by PTELL.

"If they can do that with a petition drive, more power to them," Dunstan said. "This is not an issue that affects the county. It affects other districts."

PTELL also could be placed on the ballot if the County Board authorized a referendum on it.