Plainfield Schools to Increase Tax Levy; Public Hearing Slated for Dec. 17

Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 plans to ask the Will and Kendall County clerks for $197,866,981 in local property taxes (including bond and interest) through the district’s 2012 levy.

The Board will hold a public hearing on the levy, as required by law, at its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 17, at the district administrative center, 15732 Howard St., Plainfield. The board is expected to vote on the proposed 2012 levy later during the same meeting.

The proposed 2012 levy request is about 20 percent higher than the 2011 extension of $164,889,151 (including bond and interest).

READ: Plainfield School District Deficit Projected at $1.8 Million

The levy is the school district’s official request for its share of local property taxes. The extension is the amount of local taxes the district actually receives from the counties it serves. The official extension will be calculated after the district’s final equalized assessed value is set next April. 

The higher levy is normal. Governments must request, or “levy for” more taxes than they actually expect to receive, to ensure that they get their full share of taxes.  If governments ask for less than what they ultimately are due, they lose any funds over their request. 

Ultimately, district officials expect the difference between the actual 2012 levy and last year’s extension to be less than 20 percent. 

District 202 has reduced operating expenses by about $43 million since 2009 to address budget deficits caused by the weak economy, collapsed housing market and unstable state funding.

The state tax cap law limits the amount of new revenues the district can levy each year to either the rate of inflation or 5 percent, whichever is less. For the 2012 levy, the rate of inflation is 3 percent; therefore District 202 can increase its local property tax revenues by only 3 percent (plus the value of new construction). 

Of the total amount of the proposed 2012 levy, approximately 80 percent or $159.7 million dollars will go to the districts’ operating funds, which include Education, Operations and Maintenance, Transportation, Working Cash, Illinois Municipal Employees Retirement Fund and Tort fund.

District officials will be able to calculate the 2012 extension and resulting tax rate after the district’s equalized assessed valuation or EAV is finalized early next year.