U46 proposes tax levy
By Emily McFarlan Miller emcfarlan@stmedianetwork.com October 18, 2012 6:16PM
Updated: November 22, 2012 6:14AM
ELGIN — School District U46 has started its property tax levy process by recommending a $308,448,827 total levy for 2012 to the school board.
That’s a 9 percent increase over the $284,823,428 that the Elgin school district collected last year, not including the district’s debt service, according to Director of Financial Operations Dale Burnidge. And that’s much less than the 20 percent U46 usually levies over what it was extended the year before.
But it’s most likely the district will collect only about 3 percent more from property taxes in Kane, Cook and DuPage counties, Burnidge said.
“We’re just getting a cost-of-living increase, correct?” school board member Jennifer Shroder asked during Monday’s meeting.
That’s correct, Burnidge said, because while U46 usually increases its levy up to 20 percent to ensure it gets the maximum amount of property tax revenue allowed by law, Kane County has a tax cap. That limits increases in property tax extensions for non-home-rule taxing districts to the rate of inflation, up to 5 percent, he said.
So the number set by the district will be scaled back by the county clerks to the maximum amount available after the equalized assessed value of homes and other property in those counties is made available in spring.
This year, the director of financial operations said the district set its levy lower than that 20 percent because new construction has slowed and housing valuations are going down.
Last year, the consumer price index was an even 3 percent, according to Burnidge.
That means, on average, taxpayers in the school district would pay about 3 percent more on their property taxes, depending on the equalized assessed valuation of their homes this year.
The Kane County treasurer’s website estimates Elgin Township residents paid about $4,361 in property taxes on a $150,000 house in 2011. A 3 percent increase on that would equal another $139.83 on those tax bills.
The board of education plans to hold a public hearing on the tax levy before voting on it at its regular meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, at the U46 Educational Services Center, 355 E. Chicago St. It then will vote on the proposal at its meeting Dec. 3.
