Lake Bluff School Board Cuts Tax Levy $3.1 Million
Residents should expect lower property taxes when bills arrive from Lake County.
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Budget cuts by the District 65 Lake Bluff School Board and sufficient reserves led to a reduction of the 2012 Real Estate Tax Levy by $3,178,010, according to a news release issued Wednesday by the District.
A spokesperson for the District was unable to quantify the amount of any property tax reduction but any savings will show on the first half property tax bill.
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The Board cut its operating budget by $2 million for the coming fiscal year and will take approximately $1 million earmarked for debt service from cash reserves. The total levy of $12,953,000 is $3,178,010 less than last year.
The Board considered a number of options and held a town hall meeting to let citizens voice concerns, according to a statement made by Board President Mary Jane Brady in the release.
“The chosen plan allows us to reduce reserves and thereby ease the community’s tax burden, while ensuring there are sufficient funds to continue to provide a high level of educational opportunities and operations in Lake Bluff,” Brady said in the release.
Future tax levies are dependent on the District’s strategic plan which is being developed, according to Brady.
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Donald E. Russ
8:55 am on Thursday, January 17, 2013
The current District 65 School Board is certainly entitled to credit for finally acknowledging the public outcry after they raised the real estate tax unnecessarily the previous two years.
http://65.pxxq.com/mjb.html
They have bloated cash balances – millions of dollars sitting idle – paid by families working on tighter budgets than District 65. This reduced levy is an admission that we have been overtaxed.
I am glad to see that the District 65 School Caucus has nominated some of the people who brought this pressure on the board. It seems significant that MJ Brady, who seeks re-election, did not seek caucus endorsement.
And now the Brady Board issues a press release taking credit? Throw the rascals out!
Timothy L. Brown
11:43 am on Thursday, January 17, 2013
Amazing. Just amazing. Do I have this straight? The school board, after listening to their community and after their own discussions and deliberations, has LOWERED taxes? And some clown is complaining? From the simple Math I've applied to the information I have, my tax bill is going down about $1000. Yet we complain. Simply amazing.
Who is this idiot Don Russ whose rants and raves I've seen splashed all over the blogs the past few months? Does he create reasons to complain because he likes to watch himself type? Why the personal attack on one member of the school board? Has he ever done anything to better our community? Does he pay taxes? Has he had a mental fitness evaluation?
Must we put up with his trash?
Throw the rascal out!
Geoff Hanson
9:21 am on Friday, January 18, 2013
I’m new in town, and I’m not sure I want to engage in the angry confrontations that take place in this forum, such as Mr Brown’s second paragraph, but I must say I don’t understand where Mr Brown is coming from in his first paragraph.
The graph at Mr Russ’s link says it all: The school board hiked up taxes when no one was looking and then when a majority of them must stand for reelection, they lower them and send out a new announcement about it.
They didn’t even lower taxes to the level three years ago and prior; instead, just below the two huge hikes of recent years. Mr Brown, look at the graph!
Apparently the school board thinks that we are all suckers and that they can easily dupe us. If we are all as gullible as Mr Brown, they are right.