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Schools

District 202 Taxes Should Drop Thanks to Bond Changes OK'd by School Board

The owner of a $300,000 could see a savings of as much as $179, district officials say.

Plainfield homeowners are likely to see a decrease in the amount of property taxes they pay to cover the school district’s debt service tax rate.

The board on Monday approved refunding several general obligation bonds that should save taxpayers about $3 million over the remaining life of the bonds.

“We feel it is an important thing to do,” said John Prince, assistant superintendent of business and operations. “It will have a positive effect on the tax rate.”

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Steve Larson, the district’s financial advisor and an executive vice president with Ehlers, said the district will be refunding bonds that were to expire in 2022. They will now expire in about four years.

The adjustment lowers the payments on the bonds from about $38 million per year to $32 million per year, he said.

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Because it will lower the district’s debt service rate by about 11 cents, the owner of a home with a market value of $300,000 should save about $179 a year, district officials said. Other factors, such as a home’s assessed value, can affect individual tax bills.

Board secretary Michael Kelly said the district is taking advantage of a key window of opportunity to pay down its debt while saving taxpayers money.

“This is a great great opportunity,” he said.

The school board on Monday also approved selling up to $16.5 million in tax anticipation warrants to ensure its bills are paid while waiting for property taxes to be collected.

The district is expected to pay about a 1 percent interest rate on the short-term loans that will be paid off Aug. 30.

Tax anticipation loans are common practices to help school districts ensure operating expenses are paid because property tax payments are collected twice a year, in June and September, but bills are paid year-round.

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