District 202 to Hold Public Hearing on Proposed $194.4M Property Tax Levy

PLAINFIELD, IL — Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 plans to ask the Will and Kendall County clerks for $194,442,654 in local property taxes (including bond and interest) through the district’s 2016 levy – about $10.4 million less than last year’s levy.

The Board will hold a public hearing on the proposed levy, as required by law, at its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, December 19, 2016 at the district administrative center, 15732 Howard Street, Plainfield. The Board is expected to vote on the proposed 2016 levy later during the same meeting.

District officials project that the district’s total tax rate will fall from $6.24 per $100 of equalized assessed value (EAV) this year, to about $5.70 per $100 of EAV, or about 8.6 percent thanks to rising property values, refinancing several bonds and conservative budgeting.

However, the actual tax rate cannot be determined until after the district’s EAV is finalized early next year.

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 2016 levy request is about 6.2 percent higher than the 2015 extension of $183,110,161 (including bond and interest). However, the proposed 2016 levy is about $10.4 million less than the 2015 levy of $204.8 million.

Although the proposed 2016 levy is 6.2 percent higher than last year’s extension, district officials expect this year’s actual tax extension to be only about .3 percent.

It is normal for governments to request significantly more money than is actually needed to ensure that they get their full share of taxes. This process is called a “balloon levy.” If governments ask for less than what they ultimately are due, they lose any funds greater than what is requested.

The state tax cap law limits the amount of new revenues the district can levy each year to either the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or 5 percent, whichever is less. For the 2016 levy, the CPI will be .7 percent.

Therefore when the levy process is complete District 202 will be able to increase its local property tax revenues by only .7 percent (plus the value of new construction). New property values can fluctuate between now and when final numbers are received. As well, the economy continues to show signs of slow improvement.

Of the total amount of the proposed 2016 levy, about $163.6 million, or about 84 percent will go to the districts’ operating funds -- Education, Operations and Maintenance, Transportation, Working Cash, Illinois Municipal Employees Retirement Fund and Tort.

Submitted by Plainfield School District 202