Geneva schools to ask for more taxes, over board member's objection

Geneva school board member Mike McCormick has again voted against increasing the district's property taxes for operational costs.

And again, he was in the minority.

The school board voted 6-1 Monday night to use an inflation factor of 1.5 percent in determining how much more money it wants collected in 2015 for operations, compared to that collected in 2014.

"I just think at this point, at least for a year, we can keep our taxes from going up year after year," McCormick said. He said residents are still weathering personal "financial storms. We need to show taxpayers we are thinking about that."

The district is asking the Kane County clerk to collect $67.42 million from taxpayers, $3.69 million more than in 2014, for operations. Since the final value of property in the district will not be set until March, the district could receive less than it is requesting.

It expects the clerk will levy an additional $16.3 million, for repaying debt.

State law prohibits governments in almost all counties from increasing operations taxes by more than the rate of inflation or 5 percent, whatever is lower. The inflation rate used is from December 2013. Property taxes for paying debt are not limited, nor are they controlled by the school board. And new construction is exempt from the cap on increases in the operating taxes.

The owner of a home valued this year at $315,000 could pay about $191 more in property taxes to the district, if that home increases in value by 1.77 percent, as the district's business services assistant superintendent has estimated.

Several board members reiterated that the budget and levy process in Illinois is somewhat backward. Setting a levy amounts to the first step in the budget process, board member Bill Wilson said. The levy adopted Monday will be collected starting in May of 2015, and the money will largely go to pay for items in fiscal year 2016, which starts July 1.

"As an accountant and tax guy, this is an odd way to run a business," McCormick said.

Geneva TaxFACTS co-founder Bob McQuillan said the board should stop saying that it is asking only for what will be needed to operate the schools, because the district plans to use extra money to abate property taxes collected for debt.

"Abating is overtaxing ... in reality we have overtaxed for several years because of the huge debt we are under from the 2006 referendum.

" ... So I don't really think you are asking for only what you need for next year," McQuillan said.