FOREST LEAVES - Oct. 28, 2004
River Forest School District 90's estimated property tax levy for next year represents about a 1.3 percent increase across all funds, though that could change with an expected bond sale in November of about $7 million.
The estimated levy, unanimously accepted by the District 90 School Board Oct. 18, is about $10.8 million, including bond and interest.
Not counting bond and interest debt service, the district's levy is about $9.8 million, an increase of 4.1 percent over the levy collected on this year's tax bills, District 90 Business Manager Anthony Cozzi said.
The School Board is scheduled to vote on the levy at its Dec. 13 meeting, Cozzi said. No public hearing on the levy is required because the increase is under 5 percent.
The draft levy could still change before final approval. District 90 plans to sell about $7 million in bonds to reestablish its working cash fund, Cozzi said Monday, and that bond sale could be calculated into the new levy.
"If not, it will be in future levies," Cozzi said. "It's all on how the repayment schedule is set up by the bond underwriters."
If included in the next levy, its debt service portion could climb from $974,599 now to about $1.2 million, Cozzi said. That would bring the total levy up to about $11.1 million.
The school board is scheduled to approve the bond sale at its meeting Nov. 15, Cozzi said.
The bond terms state the district will issue no more than $8 million in debt, but that is because the sale is slightly more than $7 million, Cozzi said.
The operating levy's growth is limited under the state-imposed tax cap to the consumer price index, this year set at 1.9 percent, Cozzi said. The index applies to all existing properties, but not new development, so the levy estimate is set higher to capture any taxes from property development in the village.
"If we say 1.9 percent and there's new development, we leave money on the table," Cozzi said.
Both the Nov. 15 and Dec. 13 meetings will start at 7:30 p.m. in the library at Roosevelt Middle School, 7560 Oak Ave.