When you start digging into the Annual Meeting Booklet, it's amazing what you find.
Last year, we projected that the debt service payment portion of this year's (2009-10) tax levy would be about $7,500,000. Wind the clock a year forward and suddenly we're paying $9,500,000!
Last year, the highest projection for the debt service portion of future year tax levies would be a hair under. $10,000,000. Suddenly, the projection calls for a 40% increase to a maximum of almost $14,000,000.
Last year, the projection was that taxpayers would see relief from the debt service portion of the tax levy beginning in 2016 (dropping to about $6,000,000). This year, the debt service portion of the tax levy is not projected to drop below $9,500,000 until 2020!
Of course, that picture could change as the district refinances its debt. But isn't it a little odd to see this degree of change in one year's time?
But, even if we do re-finance, re-financing isn't free, as those of you who have re-financed your mortgages over time well know. Toss some more costs onto the budget.
Why should you care? The total proposed tax levy for this year (2009-10) is $46.25M. Of that total, $9.25M is the portion used to pay down district debt - "the "debt service" levy.
So, debt service levy is 20% of the total tax levy. That means that of the $11.85 mill rate, $2.37 goes to paying down the debt. As that debt service levy rises, so will your property taxes! Remember that, at least for this year, the mill rate rises about $0.25 for every $1,000,000 of tax levied. If the debt service portion is to rise to $14,000,000 (from it's current $9.25M), then the mill rate will rise about $1.15 just from the debt service portion alone! That's without considering any other budget costs (the other 80% of the tax levy).
Last Year at this time, when the Annual Meeting Booklet came out, and we were about to set the tax levy for 2009, the debt service payment picture looked like this:
And now, one year later it looks like this:
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