Lake Villa District 41 Residents Have the Opportunity to Vote Yes Twice on Referendums to Lower Their Taxes and Fix Their Schools
LAKE VILLA, IL - Residents of Lake Villa District 41 will be voting this Consolidated Election on two referendums that will allow the district to fix and sustainably maintain their schools while lowering property taxes for homeowners. The two referendums are the result of a collaboration between over 1,500 members of the community to solve the challenges the schools face in a fiscally-responsible manner.
"We need a long-term approach towards investing in the future of our schools. Using the district's most recent facilities assessment, we identified a list of potential improvements for our schools, including urgent life safety needs, necessary improvements, and investments into 21st century learning," Alli Chase, the yes campaign chairwoman, said. "By passing both referendums, we can invest in and sustainably maintain our schools moving forward all while providing tax relief to our community."
The first ballot question is for a $34.2 million bond that will provide the funding that is needed now for infrastructure projects at the D41 schools, with that bonding authority expiring in 20 years. The second ballot question is for a small Debt Service Extension Base (DSEB) increase that will provide an additional $790,000 per year in sustainable funding for ongoing maintenance to properly maintain the schools moving forward.
Due to D41's fiscally-conservative approach to spending, the current bond debt is scheduled to be paid in full this year. The projects funded by the referendums total $50 million over the next 20 years, which will be funded at a lower rate than the current bond rate. This means that property taxpayers will see a tax decrease of approximately $212 per year, based on the value of a $250,000 home.
"With our district being one of the most fiscally-responsible in the region, they have been able to lower our tax rate from 4.72% to 4.58% since 2015," Chase said. "While many school districts in Illinois are increasing taxes to fund shiny new buildings, we are pursuing a more responsible path. This has been a community effort from the start and passing these referendums will help fix our schools while also giving our overburdened taxpayers much needed property tax relief."
Lake Villa residents will be able to vote on both referendums this election. Early voting starts on March 18th and Election Day is on April 2nd.
You can learn more about the vote yes campaign and why they are urging the public to vote yes twice at VoteYES41.com.
About Vote YES 41: The two referendums appearing on Lake Villa residents' ballots is a community collaboration effort to lower our taxes and fix our schools. By voting yes on both referendums, D41 will be able to invest in infrastructure and fulfill all facility needs, sustainably maintain our schools moving forward, and provide overburdened taxpayers property tax relief.