Tuesday, May 17, 2011
 
sponsored by

Sales tax to go to schools could be set below 1 percent

Send a link to a friend

(Originally posted Monday afternoon)

[May 17, 2011]  Logan County voters approved a sales tax for schools during the April election. The requested referendum was spearheaded by a committee dedicated to improving the county's schools and won favor by 60.68 percent.

The state of Illinois made it possible in 2007 for schools in a county to apply for an up to 1 percent retailers' occupation tax, a "sales tax" on certain goods and services. The tax would be primarily usable for school facility maintenance and expansion projects.

Leading up to the referendum in Logan County, schools offered in return anything from property tax reduction to not asking for more tax money, in accordance with their current and projected facility needs.

With the election now certified, the matter has been brought before the Logan County Board, to whom the authority is given to set the tax rate by ordinance. The board has the option to set the rate between 0.25 and 1 percent.

Finance chairman Chuck Ruben brought the committee's recommendation forward last Thursday that the tax be set at 1 percent.

Library

Board member Gene Rohlfs spoke first, saying that years ago there was a state occupational sales tax on labor and service. It was dropped by a 50-year jubilee. But, he said there is again discussion at the state level to bring that tax back. It would also be at a 1 percent rate.

"We vote the whole 1 percent, and then they (the state) vote that, and essentially we're at 2 percent," he said.

There was discussion that followed about the low voter turnout and whether those who did vote actually came out with a commitment to get this referendum passed and thereby skewed a fair representation of what Logan County residents would really want.

Andy Meister said, "Yeah, but I think that's the reason we have elections. We can't go against something because certain people didn't come out to the ballots."

The discussion took another turn as to whether the school districts are counting their money from this already. Ruben said he was sure they are working it into their future budgets now. Most have a July 1 start on their fiscal year.

However, the taxes begin being collected Jan. 1, 2012, so schools would not see those tax dollars return from the state until April.

On another facet, Kevin Bateman wanted to know who would be policing the schools in how they will use the funds. There are specific guidelines under which those tax dollars can be spent for building purposes.

"I personally voted against it because I have not seen where the schools have cut back anything to try to save anything when we're running double bus routes and we've got superintendents sitting at every single school," he said.

Vice chairman David Hepler thought that would fall to the regional superintendent of schools, Jean Anderson.

Ruben said the schools have audits that the state looks at for how funds are spent.

Bill Martin said that while he was not in favor of a sales tax increase, "It passed. It passed with the expectation that it would be at 1 percent."

Rohlfs acknowledged that he had voted against it also, knowing that when there's a new tax it never goes away.

He recalled that only one school district said it would give property tax relief in exchange for the new sales tax dollars that would come in, and that district is talking about buying new property.

He further thought it would be two to three years before any return would be made to property owners.

"I think that whole 1 percent will be soaked up," Rohlfs said. "It'll get used regularly, it'll get planned on, it'll be attached."

He offered, "I'll vote 50-50: half of 1 percent, and no more."

[to top of second column]

Terry Carltion joined Rohlfs, having watched how the schools have been spending. If you give public bodies more, they spend more, he said.

"If you give them 1 percent, they're going to spend it all. The problem is, they grow their liabilities instead of mitigating those things. They don't lower their costs," he said.

Carlton's perception was that they (the schools) feel they have to spend what they have coming in.

Agreeing, he said he'd vote for half a percent and would like to see how responsible the schools are with that amount.

It was required to be put on the ballot as the maximum amount that it could be voted, which was 1 percent.

Ruben said the schools were aware that it would be up to the county board to set the amount if the referendum would pass.

"We're not imposing it," he said. "We're setting the rate."

Jo Daviess has been the only Illinois county that set the rate at less than 1 percent.

A verbal straw vote of board members for 1 percent seemingly, narrowly passed.

The motion could be amended Tuesday night.

During the campaign to pass the referendum, school administrators weighed in on what their needs would be and either committed that the sales tax would be used to pay down current loans on construction and property maintenances projects, be used for near future projects, and would either reduce property taxes or keep them from going up.

LCHS Superintendent Bagby said his board had put in writing that they will lower their property tax levy and that West Lincoln-Broadwell made a similar pledge.

At Mount Pulaski, schools pledged to use half the sales tax revenue to lower property taxes and half for new construction or renovation on the aging sections of the high school.

Lincoln's District 27 Superintendent Mary Ahillen had the longest list of projects and said that the sales tax would allow the work to be done without raising property taxes.

Chester-East Lincoln School needs a boiler and then would work to reduce property tax levies.

If the ordinance would pass on Tuesday evening, it would be put on display 30 days and then be sent to the state in June. The board has until Oct. 1, 2011, to pass this. It would go into effect Jan. 1, and schools would begin seeing the revenue from it in April.

[By JAN YOUNGQUIST]

Related links

< Top Stories index

Back to top


 

News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching and Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries

Community | Perspectives | Law and Courts | Leisure Time | Spiritual Life | Health and Fitness | Teen Scene
Calendar | Letters to the Editor