Jersey District 100 approves tax levy
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By Steven Spencer
The Jersey School District 100 Board of Education approved their tax levy Thursday, Nov. 21, following a public hearing the same night.
Dr. Jason Brunaugh, Assistant Superintendent, presented information during the public hearing explaining the EAV and some misconceptions about the school district’s tax levy.
The school district’s tax rate is determined by the assessed value of property in the county and the equalized assessed value (EAV). The EAV is expected to increase by approximately 10% for the next year and is expected to be at $472,066,463.
The district is levying $19,323,356 representing a 10.01% increase over last year’s levy.
“One of the biggest misconceptions is that our levy is going to raise taxes 10%,” Dr. Brunaugh said. “Unless your house is going to be reassessed your current taxes would essentially stay the same to Jersey Unit 100. We have no control over what your house gets assessed at and every property is different.”
Dr. Brunaugh said the only way an individual property tax paid to Jersey 100 would go up is if a reassessed home was determined to have an increased value.
“The only way your property taxes paid to Jersey Unit 100 will go up with our anticipated EAV growth in this county is if your house has an increased value but it will not be because the board elected to raise the tax rate,” he said.
The $19,323,356 levy is what the district believes they’ll need to operate in the coming year to pay salaries and benefits for the 400 employees as well as supplies, materials, and several other services for the 2,450 students.
“We presented this levy based on anticipated EAV growth of 10%, and if the growth is accurate or even greater than 10%, this will result in a decrease of our tax rate to the Jersey Unit 100.”
If the anticipated 10% EAV growth is accurate, the school district’s tax rate would actually decrease from 4.09121 to 4.08970.
The estimated 4.08970 tax rate is lower than most surrounding districts and others in the Mississippi Valley Conference. Waterloo has a rate of 4.26287, Highland has a rate of 4.51640, Bethalto has a rate of 4.67370, Mascoutah has a rate of 4.83830 and Triad has a rate of 4.88650. Comparatively, Bunker Hill has a lower rate of 3.59571 and Carrollton has a lower rate of 3.41856.
Dr. Brunaugh also noted the district is not guaranteed to receive what they ask for. The tax rate depends entirely on the determined EAV.
“The final amount due to the district will be determined by EAV and the fund rate limitations,” Dr. Brunaugh said. “If we underestimate EAV we only receive what we ask for. We can never recapture the lost revenue for the district that year. If we overestimate EAV, we think it’s going to be 10% if it ends up being 8%, we don’t get 10% we get that reduced.”
The tax levy resolution nearly received unanimous approval, with the only “no” vote coming from board member Judy Rowling.
“I feel that the district spends too much money and I feel like we need to be tightening our belt just like everybody in the community is having to tighten their belt because of the inflation and everything that’s going on,” Rowling said. “I’ve seen too many things on the bills that need to be paid that I have questions about.”
