Urbana and Mahomet-Seymour school districts are also now supporting a countywide sales tax for education construction.
Urbana:
In Urbana, which would get an estimated $3 million from a 1 percent sales tax, school board members unanimously supported the sales tax in a recent straw poll.
"It's a move away from the property tax. This is what a lot of people who are involved in education have been asking for," said board President Mark Netter.
The Urbana board will consider a two-part resolution when it meets at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Burkholder Administrative Service Center, 205 N. Race St., U.
The first would ask the county board to place a 1-cent sales tax on the November ballot. The second would stipulate that the first $1 million be used to reduce the district's bond and interest tax levy.
M-S:
The meeting will be at 7 p.m. Monday at Middletown Early Childhood Center, 101 N. Division St. in Mahomet.
The board will use its regular study session time to answer questions about what the tax, which would pay for building improvements, could mean for the district.
"We think it's kind of a big decision," said school board President Ned Hahn. "It's a decision that ultimately is going to come to the voters in the entire county and I think (the forum is) in the interest of transparency and trying to help the people in the community understand what it's all about."
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The sales tax includes several options for financing and projects districts can spend it on.
Mahomet-Seymour school board officials intend to outline them during the forum.
Discuss.
I'm happy Urbana is saying they want to lower the property tax with this. But unless I'm not understanding something, this looks like a tax increase, right? They'll lower the property tax levy by $1 million, but raise $3 million in sales taxes. That's a $2 million gain.
Does anyone know how much of an effect a $1 mil reduction in the prop tax levy would be? I'm guessing it's not much.
"But unless I'm not understanding something, this looks like a tax increase, right? They'll lower the property tax levy by $1 million, but raise $3 million in sales taxes. That's a $2 million gain."
Yes.
It will be a net tax increase for every District, regardless of the lip service paid to property tax relief. And such property tax relief can be eliminated at any time in the future as well, of course.
IP not entirely true... If a district is going to use the sales tax revenues to pay off existing bond debt like many are talking about, they cannot issue new bonds with property taxes as a source of income without future voter approval. Therefore any 'relief" would be permanent unless a district went back to the voters to raise additional construction dollars for a new project.
It is important to keep in mind that the proposed sales tax revenue can ONLY be used to pay off exsiting construction debt (thus reducing property taxes) or for new facility projects such as renovation, HVAC upgrades or new construction. IT cannot be used for salaries...
I saw a small decrease in the tax bill I got last year. Unit 4's rates went down almost $.10 per 100 EAV which resulted in me PAYING around $40 less. It will be the same next year unless the mortgage crisis gets fixed and the assessed value of my house suddenly changes.
The dollar amount of taxes could increase for districts, the revenue source will change. A SMALL move away from property taxes for school funding.
Dave Tomlinson
A VERY, VERY small move. This amounts to yet another tax increase. Why hide the fact that such a minute portion of your property tax bill will be reduced, while "piling" on even more taxes on any and all purchases. I tell you sometimes it galls me how much money these school boards hammer us with.
I do not favor a sales tax increase regardless of purpose unless there is a percentage reduction in property tax. Given my business and residence is in Unit 4 which is not offering any offsetting reduction, I will vote against this sales tax.
I am for the county wide sales tax,,,,it would benefit other areas,,maybe keep people closer to home to shop, and not here,,,,with gas going up up,,,,people will stay in Danville,,,,Tuscola and other places instead of coming here,,,,,,,less cars on North Prospect,,,,,,,maybe even less people downtown in Champaigns Gold Coast area.....less wear and tear on our streets that the city keeps put off fixing anyway, we can make them last a few years longer,,,then when all the school districts keep going for the max on our property taxes,,,,because they still: "cant leave any money on the table", The whole state is in dire need of funds,,,,might as well tax the devil out of everything now and drop the pretense. Of course no one wants to handle the fact that 70% of government expense is employee related.
Oil Man...
Champaign passed a resolution in our april meeting to eliminate all of the construction bond debt we have outstanding thus reducing property taxes by 10 cents per $100 EAV. From the start of the discussion Unit 4 has committed to reducing property taxes. In fact, we would have voted against putting on the ballot unless property tax relief was a part of the deal. Yes we all understand that this is an increase in taxes. For the property owner specifically it could (i have given examples of how in other posts) actually reduce the amount of dollars you pay.
Many have said that it is not enough relief. It isn't! However, it is all we can do with the proposed sales tax revenue by law.
Dave Tomlinson
All of this is really a moot point anyway,,,,,,,,gas will be over 4 dollars a gallon by the end of summer,,,causing another drastic increae in food prices,,,,which in turn will drive up expenses to all school districts,,,which makes any promise now about property tax relief a wishful promise,,,,folks get ready for some fun,,,we are going to see an epic,,,like FDR's New Deal. Things cannot continue along conventional lines any more,too many new things to factor in. This aint gonna be your grandads. Ford, Olds. or Chevy anymore. Also I can understand people wanting to hope for tax relief, it cant happen, too many expenses that keep going up up and up, until someone cuts those,there will never be any real relief. Now an across the board cut of 30-40 % of all public employees,,,,,instead of what the government is doing now hiring while the public sector is laying off. Unit 4 is one example a few years back they had no one that could count well enough to keep attendence, and they got fined for it, so using some grant money they started a whole new division to just count heads,,4 or 5 people just to do that, of course they lost that grant have not heard if they got a new one or just kept it thru the regular budget. Seemed easy in the old days the teacher took attendence at the start of each class and that was it. The promise to reduce property tax is all a shell game,,,,they know if they put a regular referendum on the ballot it would lose worse than the first one,,Still have not addressed the reasons people are fed up with Unit 4.
Excuse me I of course mean the Private sector laying off, While the public sector has been hiring