Partial tax refunds for 472 properties have been sent out to most of a group of property owners from Ellington and Melrose townships who live within the city of Quincy and recently sued after they claimed they were double taxed. Adams County Treasurer Terry Asher said that about $170,000 was being refunded to a the group of property owners. He said the county has 77 checks remaining, with some going to property owners who sold their land.

The county received the tax money back from the two townships and the city of Quincy, which received money from the road districts, on Dec. 22. Asher said his office had to work with the developer of the tax software it uses to prepare the checks, which were sent on Jan. 18-19.

The lawsuit was filed Nov. 5, 2010, by 112 property owners organized by Quincy resident Michael Black against Melrose Township, Ellington Township, Melrose Road District, Ellington Road District and Adams County Treasurer Jean Reddington who Asher replaced in a subsequent election. It claimed that the properties should have been annexed into Quincy Township when they were annexed into the city of Quincy. Because Quincy Township doesn’t have a road district, the properties involved in the lawsuit were assessed at a higher rate.

The two sides settled the case in April 2011 with the 112 property owners receiving $34,178 in paid property taxes. Asher said the check from the settlement was sent to Scott Larson, the attorney for the residents, to be distributed.

Both sides of the case agreed with a 2002 appellate court case in Champaign County that allows townships to change boundaries and grow with cities as a city annexes property.

Riverside Township voters agreed in 1999 to preserve the boundaries of that township, halting the expansion of Quincy Township, which to that point had the same boundaries as the city. Township officials may request such a referendum if more than 1 percent of the assessed valuation is annexed within a 12-month period. Riverside Township officials were concerned about the loss of tax revenue from the annexations.

The properties in question have been transferred to Quincy Township.

The Adams County Treasurer’s Office released a list of property owners who paid property taxes in Ellington and Melrose townships who should receive a partial tax refund, following a Tuesday morning announcement.

This should end the taxing problems of the properties who were annexed into the city of Quincy but not Quincy Township.

The properties were annexed into the city of Quincy but not Quincy Township. A group of 112 residents organized by Quincy resident Michael Black filed suit in Adams County Circuit Court in 2010 against Melrose Township, Ellington Township, the Melrose Road District, the Ellington Road District and former Adams County Treasurer Jean Reddington — who has since retired and been succeeded by Terry Asher — claiming they paid too much in 2009 property taxes.

The two sides reached a settlement in May. Melrose and Ellington townships agreed to refund $34,178 to the 112 objectors, which was the difference of what taxpayers paid to the two townships and road districts in 2009 and what should have been paid to Quincy Township. The average refund was about $305 per property.

There was discussion originally that residents would have to file another tax objection to get a refund for the 2010 tax dollars. That will be unnecessary with the announcement.

The list of those expected to receive a property tax refund

Here are the district maps that were distributed to Adams County Board members Tuesday night. The new district maps were approved by a 12-7 vote.

Here is the map of districts within the city of Quincy that was approved by the Adams County Board Tuesday night.

Here is the map of the districts outside the city of Quincy that the Adams County Board approved Tuesday night.

The current district map

The current map within the city of Quincy

Handout distributed to Adams County Board Tuesday evenin

The Adams County Board heard an update on the redistricting effort Tuesday night. The process should be finished in June.

According to a chart distributed last night three of the districts should see reduction in residents, while four should see an increase.

In Quincy, Wards 3 and 5 have seen the most growth in the city and will lose residents during the redistricting process. While the other wards are set to gain residents.

Population in districts and wards have to remain within 5 percent of each other. The chart is setting up ranges at plus-minus 2.5 percent.

It was a pretty packed agenda at County Board. The board also:

• Approved a resolution approving the county liquor licenses for 18 establishments from July 1 to Dec. 31.

• Confirmed the reappointment of Dale L. Kill as a trustee of the Clayton Fire Protection District.

• Confirmed the appointment of Roger McElroy as a trustee of the Lima-Tioga Fire Protection District.

• Confirmed the reappointment of Johnny C. Anderson as a trustee of the Loraine Fire Protection District.

• Approved a one-day liquor license for the St. Anthony Parish annual picnic.

• Confirmed the appointment of Wayne Gallaher as trustee of the Mill Creek Water District Board.

• Confirmed the reappointments of Richard Howell, Jan Pritchard, Jane Aden, and Jack Gettman to the Housing Authority of Adams County.

• Approved firework permits for Spring Lake County Club and Frank Musholt.

Adams County launched its new website Thursday morning.

While the old site worked fine, the new site does make it easier to navigate. New features can be added later as different departments look to increase online presence.

I spoke with Nancy Bluhm, administrator of the Adams County Health Department, last week briefly about the McDonough County Health Department posting restaurant inspection scores online. While a similar plan is not in the works at the county level, the new site could be added to the site.

It will be interesting to see what is added in the future.

Also, you can now become a fan of Adams County on Facebook, which is attached to the county’s homepage.

The county's new website

This is what visitors saw earlier in the week.

This is what visitors saw in 2000 when they visited the county website. Thanks to the Internet Archive.