The County Board Policy Committee passed the County Schools Sales Tax Referendum on to the full County Board tonight. The resolution passed with the full one cent. It is to place the question on the November ballot.
Here is the report presented tonight at the committee meeting of the school districts based in Champaign County and how much they have proposed in property tax relief.
Here is a chart of the rates for bonds for the various school districts for this year's tax bills. These numbers can vary dramatically from one year to the next.
I'm not fully aware of the law. I'm guessing that the districts which are only partly in Champaign County will probably get revenue from this as well.
Here is the report presented tonight at the committee meeting of the school districts based in Champaign County and how much they have proposed in property tax relief.
Does the link mean we have to file a FOIA request to get the document? :)
NG article here:
I think I'm with Tom Betz on this one.
So, the schools will cut back "slightly" on property taxes, in exchange for sales taxes rolling in? Without more accountability from Unit 4, I say not a penny more!
Absolutely I'm with Tom on this one too, Corben.
"I find it kinda funny, find it kinda sad" that it's A Mad World where Al Nudo, supposedly a Republican, is wanting to raise taxes for everyone, while Democrat Tom Betz recognizes that the sales tax (a flat tax) is regressive.
If you are swallowing that line of rhetoric that you are going to get much jack back on your property taxes, I'd like to sell you a piece of swamp ground over at the corner of I-74 and Lincoln.
It is easy to make a case for better funding for our schools. As the state regardless of which political party has had control they have been and continue to be underfunding their own responsibilities let alone help school systems. However, I see two problems with this tax which will not allow me to support it and give me incentive to actively push against it.
First---it goes on FOREVER, yet its being pushed as support to pay off bonds and support infrastructure improvements both finite goals. Nudo has concerns about this also
Second---there is NO DATA from any of these school districts which shows the amount their schools property tax burden will lesson or even a declination it will remain the same for x years. Even political promises are stronger than a "tenatively agreed to cut back slightly on property taxes".
When Dave Tomlinson posts the property tax reductions passed by Unit 4 of 10 cents per $100 or more and the Board puts a 'sunset' clause on this tax, I will support it.
Betz's comment on renters paying more is irrelavant since individual homeowners have subsidized their kids in schools for years.
The FOREVER part, as re-emphasized by Oil Man and Fred Giertz in his N-G article, is the death nell for this referendum. Giertz made the argument that school districts will borrow against future monies, creating the climate that a first year possible reduction on property taxe will fade into the sunset. I still add to all of the above arguments that passing this referendum gives so much relief to the state legislature related to school funding that this state will NEVER move away from funding schools through the regressive property tax.
Pattsi Petrie
after hearing Betz' comments, it will be interesting to see how the Dems vote tonight.
Will they care about the poor, or will they care about the children? Tough call :-)
Clarification
before any goes to accusing Unit 4 of changing their numbers....
The spreadsheet that Mark has above has these numbers for Unit 4
Unit 4 0.1562 0.1000
These are correct, We have said that we are abating ALL of our construction bond debt. That is what the .10 figure above is. the .1562 is our total bond rate. the other .0562 is for the working cash bonds we took out three years ago. We CANNOT BY LAW pay these off with this revenue source. or we would. This can ONLY be used for construction bond debt.
To Oil Mans questions.
As an individual I am all for a sunset clause. I do not know why the legislature did not enact a sunset on this tax, but they didn't .
In Unit 4 your property tax burden will lesson by 10 cents per 100 now and for every year that the old construction debts would have been paid using property taxes. I believe we have about 18 years or so left off payments on the construction debt so... if my figures are correct over the 18 year period your taxes on an individual property owners $150,000 house would be about $900 less. Also keep in mind that through tax caps our rates have dropped from $4.40 to $3.62
BTW the figure on the owner occupied $150,000 house in the spreadsheet and the News Gazette includes the $5,000 exemption for owner occupied that is why it is 44 instead of 50 per year.
I guess I am not sure of the question on me posting the property tax reductions. Tell me the assessed value of your house and I will tell you exactly how your property taxes will go down.
I have posted my own before so here goes again
My EAV 70,000
Unit 4 tax rate $3.62xx
New Unit 4 rate when the tax takes effect $3.52xx
my current tax paid $2,534
my new tax paid would be $2,464
Have fun
Dave Tomlinson
Several thoughts and comments - I was at the meeting last night and am told I was on the radio this morning
First any money raised goes to the home public schools of all students in the county on a per capa basis. Heritage - which extends into Vermillion County - would not count those students in terms of getting funding - Paxton Buckley Loda would get some funds from its students who live in Champaign County.
The funds raised - IF THE VOTERS APPROVE THIS (important point to remember) must be spent on facilities and infrastructure. It can not be used for Operations - it can not be used for the Education Fund. A school district like Unit Four can only rebate the portition of its revenue stream that is used to pay off existing bond debt for past facilities - and that existing revenue stream can not be diverted back into the Operations or Education Fund.
We either levy a given amount to pay existing construction bonds - or we don't levy it at all. Unit Four - because over the last forty years it has not kept up with need as has Unity District 7 or Urbana 116 - which have more debt because they have done more work - and therefor have more debt to retire.
Dave is correct that working cash debt CAN NOT be paid off with these funds
I think that if this infastructure tax does pass it will cause a major change in how local school districts deal with long term planning for facilities and such. With a steady revenue stream devoted to facilities - I see that long term planning will be part of the school district process - instead of the current wait for disaster to hit. I personely would like to see Unit Four work with the City of Champaign planning department under an inter governmental agreement - but that's my own thoughts
My. 02
Greg Novak
To be fair, by shifting facilities costs partially onto a sales tax, you free up part of the budget (even after the abatement) to be used for other things. i.e. The schools will have a net increase in their budget. So while the sales tax can't go to operations, it does provide for more money for operations by partially taking facilities out of the pool of property tax money.
That said, with the accountability questions that have surrounded the school districts (and more than just Unit 4), maybe it is time to put check registers online as a good-faith move to the voters. Show them you aren't going to hide anything, that you'll show them where all the money goes and you'll build lots of good will to vote for the sales tax increase and eventually for the bond referendum you are going to need to do.
--
j
Part-Time Pundit
Sorry, but I'm not going to support more money for Unit 4 unless we have something concrete about where it's being spent and exactly how they will reduce taxes--is Unit 4 really asking us to trust them that they will reduce our property taxes if the sales tax passes, or will there be something that binds them to this? I'm a little unclear on that point.
What happens if the sales tax passes and then the teacher's union, or someone else, makes a case for spending more? Will Unit 4 be bound by its promise to reduce property taxes, or will we just have to vote at the polls?
Here are mine Dave. I appreciate your clarifying post. The eighteen year impact is as good as a sunset for me as I will not be here then.
My EAV 104,000
Unit 4 tax rate $3.62xx
Your quoted New Unit 4 rate when the tax takes effect $3.52xx
my current tax paid $3,765
my projected new tax paid would be $3,661
"The horseleech has two sisters, crying Give! Give!". (It's for the kids)
It is mostly a bald-faced lie that the tax increase is for the kids. Prove that the kids get it.
Underfunding their responsibilities? What does that mean?
It's for the tax-eating education-fouling teachers union, the ever-expanding pension program and the black hole of continuously growing bureaucracies in the school district. As Greg Novak points out, they will first shift every thing they can to the infrastructure fund and then when they run out of money again (and you can bet they will), they will be back again to get more money from the income tax and the property tax.
The problem with education is not how much money you throw at it.
It's not true that renters dont pay property tax. Landlords include that in the rent they charge although rents tend to go at what the market will bear rather than on a cost-plus basis. And rent wont go down if tax rates decline. Further, some leases are nnn so the renter pays the tax.
If you are referring to Unit #4, you forgot lawyers, RK. Not sure anyone posted renters do not pay property taxes. However, they pay less than the homeowners due to the nature of their property and farmers pay more. Funding education through property taxes creates these inequities. Moving part of the school funding load onto income tax helps level it. Of course the state was suppose to do that with the lottery years ago but that never happened.
Is the school property tax funding load correct? We voters have a direct voice on htat issue as we elected the school boards. Its not that way with the CU MTD board where there is no vote so no local voice therefore the maximum property tax load gets levied every chance they get.
I agree that the method of taxing land for schools is a remnant of the agrarian society, just as is the 9-month school year. The lootery is just plain stupid IMHO.
Problems must be addressed at their roots. Schools are out of money because they spend too much money. Expenditure rates are not correlated with quality of education. Where is the "hole in Daddy's arm where the money goes"? The money goes for salaries. Our schools are hamstrung by excessive bureaucracy, excessive regulation, excessive administrative overhead, and are grossly overstaffed with grossly overpaid grossly over pensioned administrators and teachers.
Why?
a) because the organized teacher's union is the most powerful single political force in Illinois, and b) there is no way to conduct discipline in the schools, and c) ignorance and apathy -- no body seems to know no body bothers no body cares to do enough about it.
We must reinstate discipline and corporal punishment in the homes and in the schools if we are ever to stop the hemorrhaging of money and the degradation of the educational system.
You realize RK your points on the school system (public) apply almost equally to the health care system (semi-private). I have to disagree with your solution however. The school system like many of our troubled systems including the health care system suffers from lack of accountability. A disease suffered by many of our citizens and most of our elected representatives and corporate America.
The beatings will continue until we see an improvement in morale.
Wow, Kcin not only hates gay people, but also knows nothing about the educational structure in Illinois or the state of its unions. Appears to even be having trouble counting the number of teacher unions active in the state.
I have to disagree that those involved don't care. I do have to agree that there is a wealth of ignorance on the subject--starting with that post. But I'm not just vetoing bad ideas--please check the other thread for my concrete solutions.
I will agree with the sentiment above that all public expenditures (not just education) should be easily accessible both online and in hard copy. It drives me nuts that none of the funding makes it way back to the classrooms and then people can complain about how rich us teachers are getting off of this.
I can think of about 100 other professions that with much shorter working time I could be making more money off of. I'm happy to be a teacher and not working those jobs. But it's an insult to imply that I'm making some huge salary for my trouble.
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