From the office of Dan Patlak, Cook County Board of Review…
It has been two months since my swearing in on December 6th and I thought it would be appropriate to reach out to give you a progress report.
Following our victory in November, our first order of business was to assemble a staff that would have as its main focus, serving the needs of the residents of the 1st Board of Review District as well as all residents of Cook County. We have assembled a team capable of serving resident needs by bringing on board individuals with a variety of backgrounds, experience and education. Among our new hires is a former Township Assessor and Board of Review analyst, a certified residential appraiser, two law school graduates, a former County Commissioner, three MBA’s with strong business backgrounds and a CPA. We also have several individuals with strong technology backgrounds. Among our group, we have individuals who are fluent in Spanish, French, German, Greek, Polish, Hindi, Punjabi and Arabic to support the diverse needs of our taxpayer population.
Immediately upon being sworn in we began the process of professionalizing the office by training staff internally and externally, an effort which is a continuing process. Many will be attending a free class on assessments which will be offered by the Illinois Department of Revenue and several will be taking classes which will make them Certified Illinois Assessing Officers before the end of the year.
We have reviewed the Board’s web site and will soon be making changes to bring it up to date and make it more user friendly. In addition we are developing a video tour of the Board, at no cost, which will describe what happens to an appeal/complaint once it is received; this video will be available online.
To improve transparency, we have reached out to all thirty township assessor offices and invited each to take a tour of the Board so that their staffs will be better informed to help their local constituents. As of today, twenty offices have attended the two hour tour and presentation provided by our team with very positive feedback from the assessors.
We have begun conducting Assessment Appeals Seminars in those townships open or about to be open for appeal at the Board of Review. Seminars have been completed in Westchester, Tinley Park, Oak Forest, La Grange Park, Berwyn, Barrington and Evanston. Additional seminars will be completed throughout the first district before the end of the assessment review cycle for the tax year 2010. Earlier this month we held a seminar in New Trier Township which was followed by an on-line interview.
After reviewing the letter appellants receive from the Board informing them of their hearing date, we decided to do a complete rewrite to make it more informative and less threatening. Taxpayers now know that if they are unable to attend their hearing, their file will still receive the same consideration it would if they had attended.
As a full time commissioner I continue to be grateful for the trust you have placed in me and commit to doing my best for you everyday.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.
In your service,
Dan Patlak, Commissioner
Cook County Board Of Review
http://www.electpatlak.com