The Mount Vernon School district levy rate is $17.24 per $1,000, a reduction of roughly $0.17 per $1,000 from the current final tax rate.
Business manager Michael Marshall said that is the maximum proposed levy the district can impose, and if the school were to receive the proposed funding of 2.5 or higher State Supplemental Aid that is being advocated at the state house but not been passed, that levy rate could be lower.
For many tax payers, however, the increase in valuation from 2024 means their tax bills are not showing lower.
During the public hearing, Curt Hancock and Nelson Baethke both spoke about the impact of valuations in past years.
Baethke said his valuation went up 51 percent in the past two years, increasing his property taxes significantly for his property.
“According to the summary from Linn County, 60 percent of my tax dollars are going to the school district, and I’m worried if you’re spending my money wisely,” Baethke said. “How much can we afford to pay in this district?”
Hancock said the letter he received from Linn County reflected a higher tax bill, even though the millage rate had gone down.
Marshall said that if the Linn County publication had shown levy rates compared year to year, that most would have seen a roughly 1.3 percent increase in the taxes for residential or -0.2 percent increase for business rates.
Marshall explained that the district’s levy is dropping due to a decrease in certified enrollment for next school year. Instructional support levy rate, management levy and physical plant and equipment levy rates are all increasing revenues next year. Debt service levies will be decreasing as bond payments have reduced some of the bonded projects for the district.
Marshall also said the only funds the district has some control over include instructional support levy, management fund and the debt service.
The increase to the management fund this year is due to the increasing property insurance rates for the district, building for early retirement offerings and the district’s natural gas bills.
“That natural gas bill came in lower than I budgeted for this year, which is good,” Marshall said.
The district’s property insurance rate is slated to increase between 12 to 15 percent this year.
The district also had good news on health insurance offerings – the increased number of enrollees for the school’s insurance plans last school year pushed the district into a large market for health insurance, which will give the district more flexibility for plans offered. Marshall said that communication will be happening with employees in the coming weeks.