The Assessor determines what every property is worth. Taxing bodies (schools, parks, municipal governments) decide how much money they need to raise. Your tax bill is your share of what the taxing bodies levy, based on your property’s value. 

Here’s the problem: The Assessor’s office is just one piece of a multi-step process. After Fritz assesses properties fairly, machine politicians on the Board of Review hear appeals — mostly from big commercial properties — and give out hundreds of millions of dollars worth of tax breaks to corporations. When big commercial properties pay less, homeowners have to pay more to make up the difference.