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Moline-Coal Valley to raise tax levy, not as high as could be

A yearly review of the tax levy for the Moline-Coal Valley School District takes on bigger meaning now in a time of financial unrest. District CFO Dave McDermot...

A yearly review of the tax levy for the Moline-Coal Valley School District takes on bigger meaning now in a time of financial unrest. District CFO Dave McDermott crunched the numbers for the school board, and says it's hard to project what they'll be getting this year from the State of Illinois.

"I've been working with the state for 25 years, I have no idea what they're doing. This might be the worst year ever. We don't know what it is. If we do something based out of fear, it's hard to justify that to the public," McDermott said.

McDermott is proposing that the district raise the tax levy to $41.9 million, only increasing the property tax hit on area home owners this year by 0.8%, or just under $14 on a $100,000 property.

"To not do like other taxing bodies and authorities within our community and panic and tax to the maximum that we could," Moline-Coal Valley School Board President Justin Anderson said.

McDermott says state legislators are considering a measure that would freeze property taxes for the next two years. That move could tempt the district to tax higher, but he says it's more important to not make any rash decisions at a cost to tax payers.

"We're doing a needs-based budget, not a fear-based budget. We are not taking the fear and saying let's jack up the taxes now in fear that the freeze will come and we won't get any more money over the next two years," McDermott said.

"I think it's what everybody wants to hear from their government entities that have taxing authority. We're living within our means, here's what we're doing," Anderson said.

The hope is now that not taxing any higher will make the 0.8% jump easier to accept.

The levy increase is only a 1.45% increase from last year, so by law, the district doesn't need to hold a public meeting to discuss the increase. However, McDermott says they'll likely still hold that meeting, which is tentatively set for December 14th when the board holds their vote.

 

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