School
Property Taxes Rolled Back
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The Central Community School Board voted Monday night to allow property tax millages in Central to be reduced as provided by state law. Each four years when property values are re-assessed and usually raised, taxing districts such as the Central School District could benefit from increased revenues due to the higher property values. State law provides that unless the System votes to "roll forward" the existing property tax rates, they automatically reduce to maintain the current level of total taxes in spite of the increased property values.
The Central Community School System did have the right to allow property taxes to remain at the old levels, which would have generated an additional $361,000 per year in revenue for the school system. While there are financial needs in the school system, some people have come to believe that generating additional revenue by allowing property tax rates to remain at pre-reassessment levels could be viewed as a new tax, and that such actions should only be taken with a vote of the taxpayers. Others maintain that leaving property taxes at their established rates simply provides a mechanism for the funding of the School System to be maintained as the cost of living rises.
In Monday's public hearing concerns were expressed about several financial needs of the School System. There is an immediate need to fund an addition to the high school, which is overcrowded and is getting by through the addition of temporary classrooms. The issues of teacher pay raises and unfunded future retirement liabilities also loom in the School System's future. These issues may eventually need to be brought to the taxpayers for consideration, but rolling forward property taxes will not be a part of the solution.
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