JUDA - School district residents will pay higher school taxes due to a decline in property values, residents learned Oct. 20 at a special Juda school board meeting.
District residents will pay $12.79 per $1,000 of equalized property value for the 2010-11 budget. That amount is 73 cents, about 6 percent, higher than last year's tax rate of $12.06.
At the district's annual meeting in August, residents approved a tax rate of $12.18 per $1,000 of equalized property value.
The property valuation for the district wasn't known at the time of the August annual meeting. Those amounts aren't known until the middle of October.
Property valuation declined about $4.9 million, or 4.7 percent, compared to last year.
Pam Green, district business manager, said property valuation in the district this year was $99,784,465, compared to $104,661,169 last year. Green said the board had an idea that property valuation would decrease, but didn't know by how much.
"(The valuation) has been going up over the past few years and now it's gone down," Green said.
She said the board used last year's valuation amounts because that's how the tax rate has been determined in the past. Next year, the district will probably estimate the tax rate by estimating a decline of 1 to 2 percent in property valuations to try to avoid a higher tax rate between the annual meting and the October board meeting, when the board approves the final rate.
Due to the decline in property valuation, the district had to increase the amount it raised from residents.
With the new tax rate, the owner of a home valued at $100,000 will pay $1,279 in school taxes. A farm valued at $300,000 would be assessed at $3,837.
The district's tax levy - or the total tax amount district residents will pay of the 2010-11 budget - is about $1.27 million.
The levy increased about $13,000, or about 1 percent, from last year's levy of $1.26 million.
The 2010-11 budget is about $4.4 million. It represents a $91,645 decrease, or 2 percent, from the $4.48 million budget for 2009-10.
District bookkeeper Pam Green said the decrease was due to the fact the district didn't hire an additional special education teacher and elementary school teacher for the upcoming school year.
District residents will pay $12.79 per $1,000 of equalized property value for the 2010-11 budget. That amount is 73 cents, about 6 percent, higher than last year's tax rate of $12.06.
At the district's annual meeting in August, residents approved a tax rate of $12.18 per $1,000 of equalized property value.
The property valuation for the district wasn't known at the time of the August annual meeting. Those amounts aren't known until the middle of October.
Property valuation declined about $4.9 million, or 4.7 percent, compared to last year.
Pam Green, district business manager, said property valuation in the district this year was $99,784,465, compared to $104,661,169 last year. Green said the board had an idea that property valuation would decrease, but didn't know by how much.
"(The valuation) has been going up over the past few years and now it's gone down," Green said.
She said the board used last year's valuation amounts because that's how the tax rate has been determined in the past. Next year, the district will probably estimate the tax rate by estimating a decline of 1 to 2 percent in property valuations to try to avoid a higher tax rate between the annual meting and the October board meeting, when the board approves the final rate.
Due to the decline in property valuation, the district had to increase the amount it raised from residents.
With the new tax rate, the owner of a home valued at $100,000 will pay $1,279 in school taxes. A farm valued at $300,000 would be assessed at $3,837.
The district's tax levy - or the total tax amount district residents will pay of the 2010-11 budget - is about $1.27 million.
The levy increased about $13,000, or about 1 percent, from last year's levy of $1.26 million.
The 2010-11 budget is about $4.4 million. It represents a $91,645 decrease, or 2 percent, from the $4.48 million budget for 2009-10.
District bookkeeper Pam Green said the decrease was due to the fact the district didn't hire an additional special education teacher and elementary school teacher for the upcoming school year.