The Naperville School District 203 Board of Education moved to adopt two resolutions abating the 2012 tax levy for both of the General Obligation School Building Bonds authorized by the 2008 referendums. The abatement reduces the taxpayer increase for property taxes paid to the school district from 4.5 percent to 3.0 percent.
“The amount the taxpayer pays is significantly less than was anticipated at the time the referendum was passed,” stated Dave Zager, Chief Financial Officer/Assistant Superintendent for Finance for District 203.
With the abatement of the 2012 levy, the District will have abated the debt service levy four of the five years it has been in effect. This has resulted in a cost savings to the taxpayer of $17.9 million or 26 percent less than the total $67.85 million that was projected at the time of the referendums.
As indicated by the financial projection, it may be possible to abate future debt service levies. The Citizen Finance Advisors reviews the abatement recommendation yearly to determine availability of funds and potential impact of abatement on the District. The Board of Education issued bonds, as authorized by the 2008 referendum, in the amount of $10 million (Series 2008) and $33 million (Series 2009). The bonds are repaid by an annual tax levy that was adopted at the time the bonds were issued. The abated tax levy for 2012 totaled $3,085,563.25.
