Tax Day! Yes, it’s Sept. 1, the day we receive our school tax bills and must pay the amount due, in full, within 30 days. This round of school (and later city/county) taxes has caused a great deal of angst in Geneva due to reassessments, largely owing to poor communication about the issue from our elected officials. City councilors (some of whom have already served through several budget cycles) still struggle to understand how taxes are determined, and they’ve passed their confusion on to the residents.

Over two columns, I will attempt two things: First, in this one, to shed some light on the bills to come; and in my next one, to present an idea that has worked well in other communities that might help us here.

A recent City Council work session (renamed by them as the “monthly operations meeting”) exposed some short-tempered councilors trying to blame staff for high tax bills. But, as the professionals in finance and assessment patiently explained, a higher........

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