December Tax Levy Coming Up
By the last Tuesday in the month of December, property tax levies must be adopted and filed with the county clerk. So, in the next few weeks, your local school and municipal boards will hold hearings and vote on those levies. I told listeners months ago that the Illinois Department of Revenue set the consumer price index at 7%, meaning schools can levy up to 5% more in this year. Most schools are PTELL limited in that they cannot levy more than 5% or CPI, whichever is LOWER. As most are aware, it has been decades since CPI has been above 5%, so this year 5% is the limiting factor.
Side note, debt service levy has no limitation, and home-rule municipalities have no levy limitation either.
In the screenshots below, you can see the memo Glenbard District D87 put out on this topic in their last meeting. The memo is actually a pretty good explanation of the levy rules and the thinking of the administration. Note, I am not picking on D87 because I assure you every school district will do as they are and tax to the maximum rate. I will explain why in a future podcast. If you know of a school district that is going to levy less than the full amount, please let me know.
Here are a few items that need a bit of attention. Reading the first paragraph, D87 states that their planned tax abatement of $1.5 million ($13 for a $300k home) will eliminate their planned tax increase. However, the table shows that the smallest planned tax increase is over $8 million. Taxpayers will see an increase, even with $60 million in estimated new property coming on for assessment.
Nothing says school districts have to tax to the max, but they do so every year. Why? Because next year’s rate is based on a percent increase from last year’s levy. So, if you hold the levy amount flat (maybe find efficiencies to save money) and don’t increase the amount, you lose increasing the base for future years. Such a game – and never played to the advantage of taxpayers.Not included in this document is any discussion of why the district needs an extra $8 million from taxpayers. School budgets are approved six months away from the levy discussion. The disconnect is a glaring problem. The budget and the levy discussion should be at the same time. |
Obsessed Much?
Bye-bye, Daniel Boone
