Post by WeNeed3 on Dec 7, 2010 9:17:34 GMT -5
District 204 board approves tax levy
By Kathy Millen kmillen@stmedianetwork.com
Dec 6, 2010 10:00PM
Average taxpayers will see about a 2.7 percent increase in their District 204 property tax bill next year.
Following a scheduled public hearing, the District 204 board of education Monday night approved its 2010 tax levy in the amount of $222,376,150, not including the bond and interest portion.
No one in the audience spoke during the public hearing.
This is a 3.48 percent increase over the 2009 tax levy prior to tax cap calculations that will be applied by DuPage and Will counties this spring.
That means the owners of an average home with a market value of $347,000 will pay $5,297 in taxes to the district, an $82 increase over last year. In 2009 that same taxpayer paid about $5,215 to District 204.
Dave Holm, assistant superintendent for business for District 204, said the change in the Consumer Price Index for the 2010 tax year is about 2.7 percent. Last year the CPI change was 0.1 percent, the lowest increase in the 20-year history of the tax cap. The change estimated for the following year is 1.2 percent, which is the second lowest increase during the past two decades.
“We’ve got, over a three-year period, the lowest and the second lowest (percent increase) and, in between, this year, that 2.7 percent is almost exactly what the average is of that 20-year history,” Holm said. “The increase over that three-year period averages 1.3 percent.”
The district requested a larger increase than what is estimated to ensure taxes from all new property are collected. Therefore, this year’s request is for a 3.48 percent increase.
“The average taxpayer should see an increase of about 2.7 percent,” Holm said. “We asked for a little more than 2.7 percent because there is also new property that goes online each year. While that’s gone down, there still is some new growth. That is the main reason we levy more than that.”
Holm said the district is actively trying to control bond and interest costs, estimated at $28,350,380, to taxpayers. At the time the 2006 referendum to build a Metea High School took place, the school board made a commitment to restructure the district’s bonded debt to build the new school while lowering the bond and interest cost to the taxpayers. Back then, a resident with a $300,000 house paid $720 for the bond and interest portion of the tax levy.
But the commitment, Holm said, was to lower that amount to $605 and keep it there for the 20-year life of the bonds.
“We’ve been able to do that,” he said. “In fact, we’ve been able to do better than that.”
In June, the district refunded some existing bonds to take advantage of the lower interest rates available, thereby lowering the cost to taxpayers. Holm said the district saved about $2 million over the life of the bonds.
The owner of a $300,000 house is now paying $605 for the bond and interest portion of the levy, Holm said. That amount is expected to go down further in a few years.
The district cut $21.4 million out of the budget for the 2011 fiscal year which started July 1. Holm anticipates another round of reductions for fiscal year 2012.
The state still owes District 204 more than $1 million from last year plus $4 million for the first quarter of this year. Holm anticipates that amount will increase by another $4 million by the end of the year.
Still, he added, the district continues to have one of the best operating expenditures per pupil numbers, per the state report card.
“Our most recently reported number is 10.5 percent less than the state average and 16 percent less than the DuPage County average,” Holm said. “It’s the most clear indicator of school district efficiency that I’m aware of. When you compare unit districts in DuPage County, District 204 spends nearly 26 percent less per student than the other unit districts.”
By Kathy Millen kmillen@stmedianetwork.com
Dec 6, 2010 10:00PM
Average taxpayers will see about a 2.7 percent increase in their District 204 property tax bill next year.
Following a scheduled public hearing, the District 204 board of education Monday night approved its 2010 tax levy in the amount of $222,376,150, not including the bond and interest portion.
No one in the audience spoke during the public hearing.
This is a 3.48 percent increase over the 2009 tax levy prior to tax cap calculations that will be applied by DuPage and Will counties this spring.
That means the owners of an average home with a market value of $347,000 will pay $5,297 in taxes to the district, an $82 increase over last year. In 2009 that same taxpayer paid about $5,215 to District 204.
Dave Holm, assistant superintendent for business for District 204, said the change in the Consumer Price Index for the 2010 tax year is about 2.7 percent. Last year the CPI change was 0.1 percent, the lowest increase in the 20-year history of the tax cap. The change estimated for the following year is 1.2 percent, which is the second lowest increase during the past two decades.
“We’ve got, over a three-year period, the lowest and the second lowest (percent increase) and, in between, this year, that 2.7 percent is almost exactly what the average is of that 20-year history,” Holm said. “The increase over that three-year period averages 1.3 percent.”
The district requested a larger increase than what is estimated to ensure taxes from all new property are collected. Therefore, this year’s request is for a 3.48 percent increase.
“The average taxpayer should see an increase of about 2.7 percent,” Holm said. “We asked for a little more than 2.7 percent because there is also new property that goes online each year. While that’s gone down, there still is some new growth. That is the main reason we levy more than that.”
Holm said the district is actively trying to control bond and interest costs, estimated at $28,350,380, to taxpayers. At the time the 2006 referendum to build a Metea High School took place, the school board made a commitment to restructure the district’s bonded debt to build the new school while lowering the bond and interest cost to the taxpayers. Back then, a resident with a $300,000 house paid $720 for the bond and interest portion of the tax levy.
But the commitment, Holm said, was to lower that amount to $605 and keep it there for the 20-year life of the bonds.
“We’ve been able to do that,” he said. “In fact, we’ve been able to do better than that.”
In June, the district refunded some existing bonds to take advantage of the lower interest rates available, thereby lowering the cost to taxpayers. Holm said the district saved about $2 million over the life of the bonds.
The owner of a $300,000 house is now paying $605 for the bond and interest portion of the levy, Holm said. That amount is expected to go down further in a few years.
The district cut $21.4 million out of the budget for the 2011 fiscal year which started July 1. Holm anticipates another round of reductions for fiscal year 2012.
The state still owes District 204 more than $1 million from last year plus $4 million for the first quarter of this year. Holm anticipates that amount will increase by another $4 million by the end of the year.
Still, he added, the district continues to have one of the best operating expenditures per pupil numbers, per the state report card.
“Our most recently reported number is 10.5 percent less than the state average and 16 percent less than the DuPage County average,” Holm said. “It’s the most clear indicator of school district efficiency that I’m aware of. When you compare unit districts in DuPage County, District 204 spends nearly 26 percent less per student than the other unit districts.”