Community High School District No. 155 v. Property Tax Appeal Board

No. 2--96--1236

________________________________________________________________

IN THE

APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS

SECOND DISTRICT
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COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT ) Appeal from the Circuit Court
NO. 155 and COMMUNITY ) of McHenry County.
CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT )
NO. 47, ) No. 96--MR--93
)
Plaintiffs-Appellants, )
)
v. )
)
THE PROPERTY TAX APPEAL BOARD; )
CRYSTAL LAKE APARTMENTS LIMITED )
PARTNERSHIP; and THE McHENRY )
COUNTY BOARD OF REVIEW, ) Honorable
) Michael J. Sullivan,
Defendants-Appellees. ) Judge, Presiding.
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JUSTICE INGLIS delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiffs, Community High School District No. 155 and
Community Consolidated School District No. 47, appeal the judgment
of the circuit court of McHenry County dismissing plaintiffs'
complaint for administrative review on the ground that it lacked
jurisdiction. We affirm.
Defendant Crystal Lake Apartments Limited Partnership (Crystal
Lake) owns a 100-unit apartment complex on 5.87 acres of land in
McHenry County. The county assessor assessed the complex at
$1,448,040 for the 1994 tax year. On January 30, 1995, following
a hearing of Crystal Lake's assessment complaint, the McHenry
County Board of Review (Board of Review) reduced the assessed value
to $1,300,000. On February 14, Crystal Lake appealed the Board
of Review's assessment to the Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB),
requesting that it further reduce the assessment to $950,000. The
Board of Review sent notice to plaintiffs on December 20, 1995,
that taxpayer petitioned to decrease its assessment. Thereafter,
plaintiffs filed a request to intervene in the assessment appeal.
The PTAB notified plaintiffs that it had received their request to
intervene and that they had been added as interested parties in the
record. On February 15, 1996, Crystal Lake moved to dismiss
plaintiffs' request to intervene arguing that plaintiffs failed to
include copies of the resolutions of their governing boards
authorizing representation as required by PTAB Rule 1910.60(d). 86
Ill. Adm. Code 1910.60(d) (1996). Plaintiffs responded that the
PTAB rules provide that, if a taxing body fails to provide the
required resolution, the taxing body has 20 days to refile the
request and attach a copy of the requisite resolution. 86 Ill.
Adm. Code 1910.60(e) (1996). Plaintiffs state that they attached
copies of the appropriate resolutions in their request to refile.
However, our review of the record reveals no copies of the
resolutions are attached to their resubmitted request, nor can we
find copies of the resolutions anywhere in the record. On March
29, the PTAB informed Crystal Lake and plaintiffs that it voted to
dismiss plaintiffs' request to intervene.
On May 2, plaintiffs filed a complaint for administrative
review based on the PTAB's March 29 letter dismissing their request
to intervene in the assessment of the property owned by Crystal
Lake. Plaintiffs also requested to be reinstated as intervenors.
Crystal Lake and the PTAB filed motions to dismiss for lack of
jurisdiction, asserting that the PTAB decision to dismiss
plaintiffs was not final and that, under section 16--195 of the
Property Tax Code (Code) (35 ILCS 200/16--195 (West 1994)), the
change in the assessed value was greater than $300,000 and,
therefore, the complaint for administrative review should have been
filed in the appellate court. The circuit court granted the motion
to dismiss plaintiffs' complaint for administrative review on the
ground that the PTAB's decision was not a "final decision" within
the meaning of the Administrative Review Law (735 ILCS 5/3--101
et seq. (West 1994)) and further found the issue of whether review
was properly in the trial court on the change in assessed valuation
to be premature. Plaintiffs timely appealed.
Because we may sustain the trial court's judgment upon any
ground supported by the record (Material Service Corp. v.
Department of Revenue, 98 Ill. 2d 382, 387 (1983)), we first turn
to plaintiffs' contention regarding whether the circuit court had
jurisdiction over the action based on the assessed valuation
pursuant to section 16--195. For jurisdictional purposes, "in
every case where a change in assessed valuation of $300,000 or more
was sought, that review shall be afforded directly in the Appellate
Court *** and not in the circuit court." 35 ILCS 200/16--195 (West
1994).
At issue here is how a change in assessed valuation is to be
measured. Plaintiffs assert that their complaint was properly
filed in the circuit court. Plaintiffs contend that when Crystal
Lake submitted its appraiser's valuation of the property, it
"amended" Crystal Lake's initial petition and therefore superseded
it. Thus, plaintiffs claim that the amount of change should be
calculated by deducting the amount which Crystal Lake's appraiser
valued the property ($1,116,555) from the assessment placed on the
property by the Board of Review ($1.3 million). The change in
assessed valuation under this calculation is $183,445, which,
plaintiffs argue, properly vests jurisdiction in the circuit court.
We disagree.
County of Coles v. Property Tax Appeal Board, 275 Ill. App. 3d
945, 948-49 (1995), held that the amount of change sought is fixed
at the instant a petition is filed with the PTAB. Subsequent
actions of the parties do not alter the amount of change that was
sought. County of Coles, 275 Ill. App. 3d at 949.
We find the reasoning of County of Coles equally valid under
the facts of this case. There is no statutory authority which
provides that an amendment to an original petition before the PTAB
supersedes the original petition and the amount of change in
assessed valuation sought is fixed the instant the taxpayer files
its property assessment petition before the PTAB. This rule has
the advantage of certainty. County of Coles, 275 Ill. App. 3d at
949.
The "change in assessed valuation" is the difference between
the final decision of the Board of Review and the proposed
assessment, both as contained in the petition filed with the PTAB.
County of Coles, 275 Ill. App. 3d at 949. In this case, the
difference between the assessment placed on the property for the
year 1994 by the Board of Review ($1,300,000) and the proposed
assessment claimed by Crystal Lake when it filed its petition
before the PTAB ($950,000) is $350,000. Because Crystal Lake
sought a change in assessed valuation greater than $300,000, the
circuit court lacked jurisdiction over the complaint.
Based on the foregoing, we conclude that the circuit court
correctly found that it did not have jurisdiction. We therefore
need not address plaintiffs' remaining contentions. We note, in
passing, that based on the record before us it appears that the
PTAB properly dismissed plaintiffs' request to intervene for
failing to submit copies of the requisite resolutions.
Accordingly, the decision of the circuit court of McHenry
County dismissing plaintiffs' complaint is affirmed.
Affirmed.
GEIGER, P.J., and McLAREN, J., concur.