Copyright Chicago Tribune
A year after the bills were sent out, Harvey’s 2023 property tax collection rates are the third lowest in Cook County, a study of collections by the Cook County treasurer’s office has found. The study, released Wednesday, revisits collection rates one year after bills were sent out, incorporating late payments. On the whole, that rate — a measure of property taxes actually paid compared to what was billed — has largely rebounded from when bills were first sent out, making up what was formerly a significant shortfall. However, the report said, collection rates for many south suburban communities remain “perilously low.” Of these, the most glaring is Harvey, which billed $57.9 million in taxes in 2023 and has collected only $33.75 million, a collection rate of 58.29%. That equates to $24.15 million in unpaid taxes. The only two municipalities with lower collection rates are Ford Heights at 39.08% and Robbins at 57.44%, both much smaller communities. Low collection rates starve villages, libraries and schools of the main source of revenues they rely on to operate. A collection rate of 95% is considered strong, according to the Civic Federation, a fiscal watchdog group. Over time, low collections in a community can increase the property tax burden on those who do pay, potentially pushing them out of their homes while simultaneously making it harder for local governments to pay for public services that attract new residents. The south suburbs had a difficult tax year in 2023. Median tax bills rose by 19.9% compared to the year before. It was the largest jump in the last 29 years, driving down initial collections further. Harvey has the most tax delinquent homes of any Cook County suburban municipality, with 3,152, according to the report. That’s more than three times as many as either Chicago Heights or Calumet City, the municipalities with the next most delinquent properties. Harvey also has the most tax delinquent vacant lots, with 1,885. Harvey is in fiscal crisis, with its City Council voting last month to apply for relief under the Illinois financially distressed cities act, a status previously only invoked by East St. Louis. Harvey Mayor Christopher Clark said uncollected taxes were a major source of the city’s budgetary problems. “The reason why the collection rate is so low is because of one, years of disinvestment,” Clark said. “Two, of course, the low collection rate also has a correlation of our high tax rate. So it’s a diminishing return.” Harvey has one of the highest tax rates in the county, placing a disproportionately high financial burden on residents. In order to qualify for state aid due to financially distressed status, a municipality must be in the top 5% of tax rates and the bottom 5% of tax collections. “It confirms why the city is looking for state funding and why we’re looking for any other assistance that may be offered from our federal, state and county partners,” Clark said. “You just cannot continue to operate a municipality with such abysmal numbers and have an expectation that your citizens will be properly served.” Harvey also leads the region in both number of tax delinquent businesses and in money owed by businesses. According to the report, 662 businesses owed Harvey $9.2 million in unpaid taxes. “Property owners’ inability, sometimes refusal, to pay their taxes has been a longstanding problem in Harvey,” the report said, “Schools, the city and other local governments in Harvey are owed more than $312.4 million in unpaid taxes, and another $441.4 million in interest accumulated during the past 20 years.” Clark has attempted to force delinquent business owners to pay taxes, including by physically barricading parking lots for delinquent businesses with concrete blocks. Harvey 2nd Ward Ald. Colby Chapman criticized the Clark administration’s attempts to extract delinquent business taxes by denying business licenses and fining business owners. “If you want to operate a business in the city of Harvey and you owe back taxes, you pay a settlement agreement,” Chapman said. “I feel like the city of Harvey is spending more time fighting entities legally that owe back property taxes and that won’t pay into this settlement agreement, versus coming to the table trying to find, like, some equitable measures.” Harvey is in a state of partial government shutdown, having furloughed more than 40% of its city staff due to inability to make payroll, including major portions of the Police, Fire and Public Works departments. Chapman said one major issue when it comes to Harvey’s tax collections and overall financial situation is thousands of abandoned homes. “Could you imagine not collecting any property taxes?” Chapman said. “I mean, to the left, right and in front of me are all abandoned homes. There are 10 abandoned homes in my area that sit on the main thoroughfare of the city.” Seven other south suburban communities also collected below 85% of their billed taxes, according to the report, including Dolton at 83.38%, Chicago Heights at 84.7% and Calumet City at 84.96%. The report also found that collection rates across the south and southwestern suburbs dropped about 1% between 2022 and 2023, while collection rates both in Chicago and in the north and northwestern suburbs remained regionally stable. Five south suburban municipalities saw their collection rates drop more than 2% between 2022 and 2023, including Markham and Blue Island. The most severe drop was in the portion of Steger in Cook County, where the collection rate dropped by 2.79%. elewis@chicagotribune.com
