The Examiner U-46 News FeedU-46 tax levy ratified via consent agenda approval By Seth Hancock
The Board of Education in School District U-46 unanimously approved, of the largest property tax levy allowed under the law at its meeting on Monday, Nov. 1.
The vote for the levy resolution and determination of tax levy came under the consent agenda with no discussion. It comes after the board approved a $61 million increase in spending in this year’s budget while enrollment has declined for the seventh straight year.
The levy hikes taxes by 2.2 percent from $335 million to $342.4 million in its property tax levy. The debt service levy is expected to slightly drop from $42.28 million to $42.23 million and the levy includes a 2.5 percent increase, $292.8 million to $300.2 million, for the corporate and special purpose levy but the district expects $297.9 million.
The levy is determined by the Consumer Price Index (1.4 percent) and Equalized Assessed Valuation (EAV), where the district estimates property values increasing from $5.4 billion to $5.6 billion. However, the levy is set at an EAV of $5.7 billion as a defensive levy.
The determination states it’s “still necessary to defensive levy to insure receipt of all property tax dollars to which the District is entitled.”
The board also unanimously approved of $4.4 million in expenditure items and $11.2 million in itemized bills.
The expenditures included $4 million (food and nutrition fund) for packaging materials.
Also included was a $372,987 (operations and maintenance fund) to replace four pickup trucks with Roesch Ford ($166,248) and three vans and a dump truck from National Auto Fleet Group ($206,739). The vehicles were approved for replacement in May, according to the proposal, but supply chain disruptions delayed the delivery.
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