Grayslake D 46 residents concerned about tax levy

Grayslake Elementary District 46's effort to capture as much tax money as possible next year has prompted concern.

About 70 residents attended a public hearing on District 46's tentative tax levy for next year. Several who spoke questioned whether the district is misspending money or not managing its finances well.

While District 46 announced it wants to increase its tax levy by 8.3 percent, most public bodies by state law are limited in how much they can increase taxes on existing properties to 5 percent, or the rate of inflation determined by the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower. The CPI factor this year is 2.7 percent.

So while the school seeks more overall tax revenue, the hit on current property owners is restricted.

Nonetheless, the District 46 board heard from residents frustrated by spiraling tax bills that typically have schools taking a roughly 70 percent chunk of money.

Joseph Calomino, director of the Americans for Prosperity tax watchdog group's Illinois chapter, said District 46's revenue has grown steadily over the years and that it should not always tap taxpayers for the maximum amount of cash.

“We're all feeling the pain of the recession, except for those in the public employee sector,” Calomino said during the public hearing.

Resident Erin Westfall expressed concern over her tax bill for a Grayslake townhouse rising by about $900 over seven years.

However, District 46 resident Colleen Wade countered that the school system should not “self impose” not getting as much funding as possible for the annual tax levy.

Some local residents were alerted to Wednesday night's public hearing through automated telephone calls from Americans for Prosperity. The robocalls went out Tuesday.

District 46 Superintendent Ellen Correll said more than 100 inquiry calls were received in the school system's offices. The automated calls directed residents to telephone District 46 officials.

Correll said some of the callers were “far from pleasant” and disrupted district work. She said many were mistakenly believed that a tax-increase referendum is in the works instead of a routine levy for money to operate District 46.

New property is not subject to the tax cap. District 46 board member Keith Surroz said the 8.3 percent levy increase could allow for more revenue from commercial properties in soon-to-expire special taxing zones that have not been providing the maximum amount of taxes.

Many taxing bodies levy on the high side because final reports on the value of land in their districts are not available at the time the levy is set. What District 46 taxpayers will owe won't be officially known until next year.