Aleksander and Jadwiga Romaszko of Schaumburg saw their property tax bill double this year.
Thinking there must be a mistake, they waited in line for four hours Monday at the Schaumburg Township Assessor’s Office, only to discover there’s really nothing they could do.
The couple, who have owned their home for 22 years and both receive exemptions for being seniors and disabled, opened their bill late last week to an amount that was more than $3,000 over the bill they received last fall.
“We did not expect it to double,” Jadwiga Romaszko said. “Nobody explained this to us.”
Assessor John Lawson said the Romaszkos are a perfect – if extreme – example of about 80 percent of the homeowners waiting in long lines at his office on Monday: Their bill increased, but there was no mistake.
Lawson and his employees saw more than 150 homeowners Monday who had property tax bills that were between $1,000 and $3,500 higher than what they were expecting. Only about 20 percent had some sort of mistake, like a missed exemption, he said.
Still, they came to express their concern.
Marijiya Hasan and her father Vajir Musabji live in Hoffman Estates. Each of their property tax bills doubled, yet the market value of their homes continue to drop.
“How are people going to pay this?” Hasan asked. “I want the answer.”
Evelyn Maier of Schaumburg said her bill went up $1,300, and she didn’t receive a senior freeze exemption like she did in the past. She waited all afternoon to see if she could fix that.
Lawson said seniors have to apply for exemptions every year.
Last Friday also saw long lines, and even some threats, prompting Lawson to bring in a police officer who will remain at the office all this week.
Most homeowners are seeing the effects of rising local property taxes from municipalities, school districts and all other local governments, among other increases, but are just now noticing, he said.
Those in Schaumburg saw the first-ever property tax from the village, created to offset slumping sales tax revenues.
And most homeowners don’t realize it’s too late to appeal their assessed home value, which also could be driving up the bill, Lawson said. The next time to appeal assessed home values is in the spring and won’t affect the latest tax bills, he said.
The Romaszkos said they will appeal, but in the meantime must figure out a way to come up with $3,000.
“Maybe we’ll take out a second mortgage,” Jadwiga Romaszko said. “Maybe we’ll ask family.”
kthayer@tribune.com
