REPORT DIGEST

PROPERTY TAX APPEAL BOARD

COMPLIANCE EXAMINATION FOR THE TWO
YEARS ENDED JUNE 30, 2016

Release Date:  April 20, 2017

FINDINGS THIS AUDIT:  1

CATEGORY:  NEW -- REPEAT -- TOTAL
Category 1:  0 -- 1 -- 1
Category 2:  0 -- 0 -- 0
Category 3:  0 -- 0 -- 0
TOTAL:  0 -- 1 -- 1

FINDINGS LAST AUDIT: 2

Category 1:	Findings that are
material weaknesses in internal control
and/or a qualification on compliance
with State laws and regulations
(material noncompliance).
Category 2:	Findings that are
significant deficiencies in internal
control and noncompliance with State
laws and regulations.
Category 3:	Findings that have no
internal control issues but are in
noncompliance with State laws and
regulations.

State of Illinois, Office of the
Auditor General
FRANK J. MAUTINO, AUDITOR GENERAL

To obtain a copy of the Report contact:
Office of the Auditor General, Iles
Park Plaza, 740 E. Ash Street,
Springfield, IL 62703
(217) 782-6046 or TTY (888) 261-2887

This Report Digest and Full Report are
also available on the worldwide web at
www.auditor.illinois.gov

INTRODUCTION

The Property Tax Appeal Board (Board)
was established by the Property Tax
Code to adjudicate real property tax
assessment appeals Statewide.  Appeals
are filed by any taxpayer dissatisfied
with the decision of a county board of
review as such decision pertains to the
assessment of property for taxation
purposes, or by any taxing body that
has an interest in the decision of the
board of review pertaining to a
property assessment.  The Board
determines the correct assessment of a
parcel of land which is subject to
appeal based upon facts, evidence,
exhibits, and briefs submitted to or
elicited by the Board.

SYNOPSIS

• (16-01) The Board did not allow for
the speedy hearing of all appeals.

FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

TIMELINESS OF HEARINGS

The Property Tax Appeal Board (Board)
did not allow for the speedy hearing of
all appeals.

During testing, we noted the following:

• Twenty-five of 40 (63%) cases tested
were not closed within one year.  The
Board took between 401 and 2,276 days
to process and close the appeals.

• Twenty-one of 40 (53%) cases tested
were pending for a period greater than
a year.  As of June 30, 2016, the cases
had been open between 378 and 2,621
days.

Board management indicated it has
received a combined 27% increase in
cases from Cook County alone with no
increases in staff and resources.
(Finding 1, page 9) This finding has
been repeated since 2004.

We recommended the Board provide for
the speedy hearing of all appeals.

Board management accepted the
recommendation and stated management
has continued to make enhancements to
its information technology and make
more processes electronic. (For the
previous Board response, see Digest
Footnote #1.)

ACCOUNTANT’S OPINION

The accountants conducted a compliance
examination of the Board for the two
years ended June 30, 2016, as required
by the Illinois State Auditing Act.
The accountants qualified their report
on State compliance for Finding
2016-001.  Except for the noncompliance
described in this finding, the
accountants stated the Board complied,
in all material respects, with the
requirements described in the report.

This compliance examination was
conducted by the Office of the Auditor
General’s staff.

BRUCE L. BULLARD
Division Director

This report is transmitted in
accordance with Section 3-14 of the
Illinois State Auditing Act.

FRANK J. MAUTINO
Auditor General

FJM:SKM

DIGEST FOOTNOTE

#1 – Timeliness of Hearings – Previous
Board Response

2014:  The Board accepts this
recommendation.  Over the past two
fiscal years, the Board received
funding for increased headcount, which
is reflected in the record number of
20,000 appeals closed in Fiscal Year
2014.  However, the Board has also
experienced a significant increase in
the number of new appeal filings.  The
Board has improved its Information
Technology processing systems and has
provided taxpayers and practitioners
with easy on-line access to information
and additional system improvements.
The Board will continue to seek
additional resources to improve
turnaround time in an effort to best
serve taxpayers.