The school districts in the City of Washington are evaluating the property tax horizon as the community is rebuilding from the EF-4 Tornado last November.
The school boards heard some of their options last night. The School Boards of Elementary and Middle School Districts 50, 51 and 52 met with the Board of the High School District 308.
At stake is determining the districts’ tax levies after the community lost about $8-million of its assessed value in the November 17th tornado last year.
Consultant HowieCrouse handles Financial Planning Services for PMA Financial Network out of Naperville. He is also a retired school superintendent. He says it’s a difficult time for many of Washington’s property taxpayers, and school districts are also faced with tight budgets.
"They are still highly dependent on local property taxes and the potential abatement or reduction of the taxes that they ask for does have an impact on the finances of the district. So the board has to weight: How do we balance the two constituencies? We are elected to run the school district and yet we are taxpayers as well," said Crouse.
Crouse says Districts 51 and 308 have the greatest number of impacted homes. He says the rebuilding is progressing going faster than expected, but the community will likely have property tax considerations like this for the next three to five years.