Will Dist. 203 skip first year of tax hike?

Naperville Unit District 203 taxpayers may get to skip the first of 20 payments toward facility improvement projects they approved in a recent referendum.

Revenues are expected to come in above projections next year, allowing the district to pass on the first collection -- $82 for the average homeowner -- and still have enough money to fund the projects as planned.

On Feb. 5, voters authorized a $43 million tax hike to fund nearly $115 million in facility enhancements around the district.

Officials had planned to start collecting the additional money next year, but due to an unusually high Consumer Price Index of 4.1 percent, the district will already be bringing in more revenue than it had anticipated, according to Dave Zager, assistant superintendent for finance. His original projections were based on a CPI of 2.5 percent.

As a result, district staff members and the finance committee are recommending the district not collect the first year of the tax hike, which is scheduled for spring 2009.

"If we don't need it, we're not going to take it," said Robert Heap, a member of the finance committee. "It's always nice to have extra money … but it's not consistent with what the bond issue is meant for and what we said."

Superintendent Alan Leis said not collecting the money next year would not mean higher collections in future years.

"If we pass the $82 by, it never comes back again," he said.

The district will review the figures annually to determine if it can make similar reductions in subsequent years.

The board likely will not vote on the proposal until fall, but board Vice President Susan Crotty said she is excited about the possibility.

"(The finance committee is) just such a stellar group and they bring a new perspective to what we're doing and the recommendation comes from them," Crotty said. "And it's really exciting we can offer value to our community for what we do."

The finance committee has also proposed a new debt policy for the district that would stipulate that when voters authorize a tax hike via referendum, the net proceeds to the district would not exceed amount stated on the ballot. This was a key issue after the 2002 referendum in which the district collected millions more than it told taxpayers to expect, which some officials blamed on property values rising more than anticipated.

Under the proposed policy, the district would also use short-term debt sparingly, repay debt through level payments and avoid capital appreciation bonds, which delay principal payment. It would also maintain an emergency reserve of 10 percent of its annual operating budget.

The board will vote on the new debt policy at its next meeting at 7:30 p.m. March 17 at the district administrative center, 203 W. Hillside Road.