$195 Million Tax Levy Proposed For Plainfield School District

PLAINFIELD, IL — Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 said it plans to ask the Will and Kendall County clerks for a 2017 property tax levy of $195,031,960 — an amount district officials say is about $590,000, or three-tenths of 1 percent, more than last year’s levy. The board of education will hold a public hearing on the levy at its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 18, at the district administrative center, 15732 Howard St.

In a statement released Monday night, the district said that despite the increased levy, it expects District 202's property tax rate to fall about 4 percent from $5.89 per $100 of equalized assessed value (EAV) this year, to about $5.64 per $100 of EAV next year, "thanks to rising property values and conservative budgeting."

The tax levy is the school district’s official request for its share of local property taxes. The tax extension is the amount of local taxes the district actually receives from the counties it serves. The official extension will be calculated after the district’s final equalized assessed value is set next April.

The proposed 2017 levy request is about 5.7 percent higher than the 2016 extension of $184,486,890 (including bond and interest). However, the proposed 2017 levy is only about $590,000 more than the 2016 levy of $194.4 million.

Although the proposed 2017 levy is 5.7 percent higher than last year’s extension, district officials expect this year’s actual tax extension to be only about 1.3 percent higher than last year’s extension.

The district said it's normal for governing bodies to request more money than is actually needed to ensure that they receive their full share of taxes. "This process is called a 'balloon levy,'" the district said in a release. "If governments ask for less than what they ultimately are due, they lose any funds greater than what is requested."

State law caps the amount of new revenue the district can levy at either the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or 5 percent, whichever is less. In 2017, the CPI will be 2.1 percent, meaning that when the levy is complete, District 202 will be able to increase its local property tax revenues by only 2.1 percent plus the value of new construction.

The district said about 85 percent of the 2017 levy, or $165.5 million, will go to its operating fund, which includes education, operations and maintenance, transportation, working cash, Illinois Municipal Employees Retirement Fund, special education and tort.

Image via Patch file/District 202