Post by wvhsparent on Dec 14, 2006 9:38:05 GMT -6
Slightly higher taxes in Dist. 204
By Sara Hooker
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Thursday, December 14, 2006
The average homeowner in Indian Prairie Unit District 204 can expect to see a slight increase on the school portion of their property tax bill next year.
Board members unanimously approved a $238 million tax levy this week, representing a 12 percent boost over last year. But after the tax cap and the district’s restructuring of debt in the bond and interest portion of the school tax bill are factored in, Assistant Superintendent for Business Dave Holm said the district will receive closer to a .5 percent average increase.
He also stressed, however, that increase could be higher for some homeowners.
“There’s still going to be a slight increase, but it’s going to be less than what they’ve seen in previous years because of what we’re doing with the bond and interest levy,” Holm said.
About $203 million of the levy will support the 2007-08 spending plan for the district that includes portions of Naperville, Aurora, Bolingbrook and Plainfield. The rest will help the state’s fourth-largest school system pay off its debt.
The owner of a $300,000 home paid about $4,637 in property taxes to the school district this year, officials said.
If the value of the house increases by 5 percent, that same homeowner, whose house would now be valued at $315,000, can expect to pay $4,660 next year, they said.
That calculation is based on the district’s assumption that home values will increase by 5 percent and the district will have $120 million in revenue from new construction.
Property values have played the lead role in determining residents’ tax bills in recent years, officials said.
Although the school district’s tax rate decreases, increasing property values still result in increases on most homeowners’ property taxes.
This year, the tax rate dropped 22 cents to $4.66.
Holm attributes that decrease to the state-mandated property tax cap and the district’s decision to restructure the debt under the bond and interest portion of the property tax bill.
Board members agreed to a debt restructuring plan in connection with last spring’s approval of the $124.7 million tax increase request to build a 3,000-student high school in Aurora.
The restructuring stretches the payback time to 20 years. The strategy reduces the district’s bond and interest portion of the property tax bill in the short term, but increases the overall payback amount.
This year, for example, the owner of a $300,000 house paid $738 for that bond and interest portion. Now that same homeowner will pay about $600 a year for the life of the 20-year loan.
Approval of the referendum means construction bonds that would have been paid off in 2017 will now remain on the tax bill until 2026. As a result, the owner of a $300,000 house will pay almost $6,000 more throughout the life of the loan.
But for this levy, the bond and interest portion district-wide decreases by $3.5 million, Holm said.
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dailyherald.com
By Sara Hooker
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Thursday, December 14, 2006
The average homeowner in Indian Prairie Unit District 204 can expect to see a slight increase on the school portion of their property tax bill next year.
Board members unanimously approved a $238 million tax levy this week, representing a 12 percent boost over last year. But after the tax cap and the district’s restructuring of debt in the bond and interest portion of the school tax bill are factored in, Assistant Superintendent for Business Dave Holm said the district will receive closer to a .5 percent average increase.
He also stressed, however, that increase could be higher for some homeowners.
“There’s still going to be a slight increase, but it’s going to be less than what they’ve seen in previous years because of what we’re doing with the bond and interest levy,” Holm said.
About $203 million of the levy will support the 2007-08 spending plan for the district that includes portions of Naperville, Aurora, Bolingbrook and Plainfield. The rest will help the state’s fourth-largest school system pay off its debt.
The owner of a $300,000 home paid about $4,637 in property taxes to the school district this year, officials said.
If the value of the house increases by 5 percent, that same homeowner, whose house would now be valued at $315,000, can expect to pay $4,660 next year, they said.
That calculation is based on the district’s assumption that home values will increase by 5 percent and the district will have $120 million in revenue from new construction.
Property values have played the lead role in determining residents’ tax bills in recent years, officials said.
Although the school district’s tax rate decreases, increasing property values still result in increases on most homeowners’ property taxes.
This year, the tax rate dropped 22 cents to $4.66.
Holm attributes that decrease to the state-mandated property tax cap and the district’s decision to restructure the debt under the bond and interest portion of the property tax bill.
Board members agreed to a debt restructuring plan in connection with last spring’s approval of the $124.7 million tax increase request to build a 3,000-student high school in Aurora.
The restructuring stretches the payback time to 20 years. The strategy reduces the district’s bond and interest portion of the property tax bill in the short term, but increases the overall payback amount.
This year, for example, the owner of a $300,000 house paid $738 for that bond and interest portion. Now that same homeowner will pay about $600 a year for the life of the 20-year loan.
Approval of the referendum means construction bonds that would have been paid off in 2017 will now remain on the tax bill until 2026. As a result, the owner of a $300,000 house will pay almost $6,000 more throughout the life of the loan.
But for this levy, the bond and interest portion district-wide decreases by $3.5 million, Holm said.
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dailyherald.com
