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Bradshaw Challenges Baxley on Property Tax Assessments at County Board Meeting

The White County Board met with a concise agenda, but the highlight of that night was, according to the Bradshaws, they had a 200% tax increase on their properties.

Jack Bradshaw came prepared to show board members the intense price difference in just a year, with Bradshaw claiming their taxes increased more than $2,000 from the year prior.

Reopening his case sounded like a series of phone calls to the Supervisor of Assessments, Gary Baxley, the Appeal Board and the State Board of Appeals in the Illinois Department of Revenue, and State’s Attorney Chris Neal.

“So I went through the procedures of trying to get this rectified. I called Gary Baxley on the phone and asked what could be done about this. And he said, Jack, you just pay the taxes. You got the money, you just pay the taxes. He hangs the phone up on me. So I immediately went to the office and asked if I could talk with him. He said, sure, I’ll talk with you. I just want to know if there’s anything to be done about this. He said, no, Jack. He said, it’s rental property. He said, you’re getting $550 and $600 a month rent on these properties up there. And he said, this is what I base it on.”

Bradshaw stated that after that, he went through several phone calls and ultimately concluded that if the White County Board did not reopen his case, the only option left would be to sue, which he said he did not want to do.

Bradshaw said some properties in question are a 12 by 20 shed on sleds that he claimed Amy Edwards would not reassess because she said it wasn’t completed.

Supervisor of Assessments Gary Baxley attended the meeting with a packet of information and pictures that, according to him, showed that properties had been updated inside and out.

“Now, I don’t know why I come in here and listen to all of, he didn’t tell much of anything, truth, and I ain’t listening to this bulls***. We had 11.8% equalizer last year. We had a big one this year. This stuff out here is from a farm he’s got that’s not done. He’s getting $150 a night to rent it on Airbnb.”

Board members agreed to discuss and possibly reopen the case, with Baxley  and board member David South commenting,

Baxley: “Ya’ll want the taxes to come out well on time, that we open the board of review for one person we’re opening up for other people to come in too.

South: “We are a public servant.”

Baxley: “I understand that very well.”

South: “And if people of this county has questions about their taxes we should make it available for them to find it. We’re gonna find more information what needs to be done Gary.”

Baxley: “I know what needs to be done; what do you think my job is.”

The board moved onto the consent agenda; all items were approved.

Only two items were on the agenda for new business. The board accepted the approval of the White County Fiscal Year 2025 Provisional Budget but tabled the Carmi Affordable Solar project by SolAmerica. The members wanted more time to read through the application clearly, have all their questions answered, and talk to residents in that area.

The following White County Board meeting will be on November 20th at 7 PM.

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20 comments
  1. Unknown comic
    Unknown comic
    October 18, 2024 at 2:38 pm

    Baxley needs to go.

    Reply
  2. Stumptown
    Stumptown
    October 18, 2024 at 3:28 pm

    Elections have consequences what you better hope for is terry abell keeps up her education so she can run or we will be faced with lunacy for 4 more years

    Reply
  3. Bill
    Bill
    October 18, 2024 at 3:29 pm

    Yes he does, mine went up 1600 dollars.

    Reply
  4. John Edwards
    John Edwards
    October 18, 2024 at 10:00 pm

    Contact the state and have them investigate Baxley. It is none of his business how much someone gets for rent or AirBnB. You can afford isn’t a response that a government employee gets to make.

    Reply
  5. Just me
    Just me
    October 18, 2024 at 11:37 pm

    It’s apparent that this man has no clue as to what he’s doing. He made the statement when he was running for election that he would raise taxes on property owners and it’s apparent he’s sticking to his promises. I would haul his a** to court and show him that he doesn’t know what he’s doing and when he bases taxes on how much money the owner is making in rent money and saying the gentleman can afford to pay the taxes? Is absolutely ridiculous and illegal. I would go to the Illinois Attorney General if I were Mr Bradshaw . This is not right no matter how you look at it .

    Reply
  6. William Henry Harrison
    William Henry Harrison
    October 19, 2024 at 9:46 am

    This Baxley has got to go. Clearly an abuse of power and this is exactly what gives state government a bad name. Terrible. 2 thumbs down.

    Reply
  7. Gary
    Gary
    October 19, 2024 at 1:52 pm

    So I guess this means if Jack Bradshaw get his taxes adjusted then everyone gets theirs adjusted. .

    Reply
    • Just Me
      Just Me
      October 23, 2024 at 4:53 pm

      Hey Mr Einstein I thought you are the supervisor of a**essment ? When did the supv of a**essment start handling the taxes ? The taxes have always been handled by the treasurer’s office NOT you. Learn your job description and stop singling individuals out. What you are doing is illegal .

      Reply
  8. Rent me dude
    Rent me dude
    October 19, 2024 at 4:49 pm

    How Property Taxes in Illinois Work

    Property tax a**essments and collections in Illinois run on a roughly two-year cycle. In year one, local a**essing officials appraise real estate to determine a market value for each home in their area. The a**essed value of property in most of Illinois is equal to 33.33% (one-third) of the market value of the residential property, though it may be different in certain counties.

    After local officials calculate the a**essed values of properties, county boards review these values to determine if they are correct. These county boards may equalize a**essed values. If they find, for example, that the property in a certain district was appraised at half of its actual value, they will apply an equalization factor of 2, doubling the a**essed value of everything in the district.

    Property owners also have the opportunity to protest their a**essed value before the county board. If a homeowner is not satisfied with the county board’s decision, they can appeal to the State Property Tax Appeal Board or even the circuit court.

    The state of Illinois also equalizes values between counties by issuing an equalization factor for each county. This ensures that a**essed property values in all counties are comparable.

    What the property rents for is not part of this process, Andis no business of the county a**essor or the supervisor of a**essments. All of this information is readily available to anyone that wants to google it.

    Reply
  9. Peekaboo
    Peekaboo
    October 19, 2024 at 10:42 pm

    Baxley! Shame on you! So you are saying just because ( u think ) someone has money that it’s ok to pay rediculous property taxes? It none of anybody’s business how much other people make! Also; in your case you’re saying that lower or middle cla** property taxes should be based on income! Well if that’s the case then sign me up! You sir need to get off you high and might chair and come back down to the real world! May I ask how much you make? I’m guessing way more than you should like most of the “ upper cla** man” sitting in those chairs near you! Actually; I’m more respectful than that to ask your income! As long as u have the $$ to pay your taxes! For you Baxley to personally tell people they can afford the taxes is not very tasteful of any person let alone a govt official! I give credit where credit is due and Mr. Bradshaw has every reason to complain! If my taxes went up 200% I’d be marching my rear to your office before the courtesy call! I always look at the younger generations as disrespectful well you have proved that wrong!

    Reply
  10. Truth exposed!
    Truth exposed!
    October 20, 2024 at 5:33 am

    The Bradshaw family has always been about “oh look how much money I got” type ppl. It’s about time he pays the same as everyone else. They are no better than the hard working citizen, just a slum lord that takes ppl for their money that obviously don’t even have it in the first place.

    Reply
  11. Emile Foster
    Emile Foster
    October 20, 2024 at 9:45 am

    Gary Baxley does know what he is doing . Jack the more you own the more for have to pay I thought everyone knew this.

    Reply
  12. JUST ASKING
    JUST ASKING
    October 21, 2024 at 10:21 am

    Just want to ask a question–Are our property taxes based on the condition and value of the property or are they based on the income that property generates?? I thought our income was collected by the IRS, not our local property tax a**essor. If a person is living in a home valued at $75,00.00 and someone is running a business out of that home, shouldn’t the property tax be based on the home’s value, not the income the person is getting from their business ???

    IF they go up 200 % just because their property is bringing in income.

    Reply
  13. Emilie Foster
    Emilie Foster
    October 21, 2024 at 6:09 pm

    Why you people so chicken to print your instead of peekaboo,dud, just me. That sounds so stupid as your comments.

    Reply
  14. Stumptown
    Stumptown
    October 22, 2024 at 8:31 am

    Emily because gary is such a child if you attach your name he will target your taxes plain and simple besides your comment at 9:45 so missed the point you might think about doing the same

    Reply
  15. Emilie Foster
    Emilie Foster
    October 22, 2024 at 9:43 am

    Stumptown know he will not I don’t pay taxes because I am to old, to have to pay taxes.When you get and age and don’t make alot of , and own your house you don’t have to pay taxes on the property you live in. Look up the laws.

    Reply
  16. Terry Ziegler-Abell
    Terry Ziegler-Abell
    October 23, 2024 at 1:03 am

    Well Emilie that’s where you are wrong about age and not having to pay taxes. See misinformation like this is what gets people in an uproar. Just because you’re old (65 or older) doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t have to pay property taxes. It all depends on the a**essed value of the property that you own and is your principle place of residence. Here’s how this works, for owning and living there you can get up to $6000 off your a**essment for owner occupied exemption, the year you turn 65 you can sign up for Homestead Exemption based on your age and is a reduction of $5000 off the a**essed value of your principle residence. Then when renewals are mailed the following year there will be a renewal for your Homestead Exemption and an application for the Senior Assessment Freeze which is based on total household income of $65,000 or less to be eligible. So for example if you turn 65 in 2024 you sign up for the Homestead Exemption. You will see this reduction for 2024 taxes due and payable in 2025. The Renewal Forms that are mailed in 2025 will be for the 2025 taxes payable in 2026 and that is when you can apply for the Senior Assessment Freeze. This DOES NOT freeze your taxes, it freezes the a**essed value on your home for the year you apply as long as you meet eligibility requirements. Your tax bill will fluctuate because of the tax rate. In a nut shell, if your a**essment is over $11,000 you will still pay property taxes on your principle residence even if you are 65 or older. Now I’m basing this on what the exemption amounts were and how it was handled when I was there.

    Reply
  17. Mona
    Mona
    October 23, 2024 at 1:45 am

    Airbnbs are not rented full-time. Should that even be part of got equation? It should be based on value of the property, right?

    Reply
  18. Mona
    Mona
    October 23, 2024 at 1:46 am

    Should have read “part of the equation”

    Reply
  19. Citizen S.
    Citizen S.
    October 23, 2024 at 9:15 am

    I know when you buy property the bank wants it appraised by someone qualified to ensure said property is worth what the bank loans. With that said, property taxes SHOULD BE BADED ON THE PROPERTIES VALUE! YOU CANNOT BASE IT ON WHAT INCOME IS MADE OFF THE PROPERTY. THATS AN EARNED MONEY . GEESH

    Reply

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