By Howard Packowitz
NORMAL – Property taxes are expected to rise in Unit 5 as the school district borrows money the next two years to overcome a multi-million dollar deficit in the education fund.
Administrators unveiled a preliminary tax levy Wednesday night. The district expects to collect $120,287,102 in property taxes next year, up 8.49 percent from the current levy.
Unit 5 business manager Marty Hickman said the owner of a $175,000 home is likely to pay an extra $210, mainly due to the school board’s decision a couple of months ago to issue $16.5 million in bonds to cover higher teachers’ pay.
Hickman said Unit 5 employs a similar strategy to neighboring District 87, projecting rising taxable land values, or equalized assessed valuation, in calculating the levy.
“We actually levy an amount based on a higher-than-expected total EAV for the district,” Hickman said.
“The reason we do that is in case there is a surprise to the upside on property value growth. Because of our deficits, we want to be able to capture that revenue.”
Hickman anticipates a 1.25 percent increase in property values, based on hopes for new construction.
Hickman said Unit 5’s projected tax rate of almost $5.40 per $100 of assessed valuation, up 36 cents from the previous year, is still lower than most area districts.
The Unit 5 board will be asked to adopt the levy at its December 12 meeting.
Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]
