mentorpublicschools 2024 0815 - Flipbook - Page 3
A Message from the Chief Financial Officer:
Six-Year Property
Revaluations for
Lake County
Coming Soon
Bill Wade
Chief Financial Officer
Even with the expected rise in property values, Mentor
Public Schools tax revenue will stay relatively flat
H
ello. Thank you for taking the
time to read our ComMentor newsletter to be informed
about Mentor Public Schools. As Chief
Financial Officer, it is important to me
to give full transparency about the district’s finances as we work to provide
the high-quality education the children of our community need in a fiscally prudent manner. Every month, I
publicly share a financial report with
the Mentor Board of Education and
that information is also posted on
our website to be viewed by community members at any time. Quarterly, I
meet with our Citizens Financial Advisory Committee, which is a board-appointed group to bring a business perspective to the oversight of the fiscal
management of the school district.
Recently, I presented our May Five-Year
Fiscal Projections and encourage you
to watch it to learn more.
In Mentor, our public school district
is funded primarily through local property taxes and we are fortunate to have
a strong business community along
with our residents contributing to our
schools. Still, our revenue stays relatively flat while costs continue to rise.
This contributes to deficit spending
and the need for the district to pursue
additional revenue sources, like new
levies. However, it’s important to note,
asking taxpayers for new money comes
as a last resort as we work diligently to
control costs and seek alternative revenue. For example, we’ve implemented
a variety of cost-saving initiatives in recent years, including reducing staff proportionally with student enrollment,
redistricting, closing and consolidating school buildings, cutting budgets,
creating shared and support service
agreements for revenue, securing grant
funding sources, working with our
employee bargaining units to control
health care costs, and more.
In this article, I am focusing on how
property taxes contribute to our revenue because the Lake County Auditor’s
Office is currently conducting its Sexenial Revaluation process, as required
by Ohio law. So, if you are a property
owner in Lake County, you will receive notice of a new valuation of that
property this summer. We’ve been in
contact with Auditor Christopher Galloway, who expects owners will see a
double-digit percentage increase in valuation, on average, across the county.
This new value of your home does not
mean you will see a proportionate rise
in your tax bill, due to tax laws in place
designed to protect property owners.
It’s not a dollar-for-dollar conversion.
And this means, our school district will
not see a proportionate increase in tax
collection, either – so our revenue will
essentially stay relatively flat.
Levy Types and Changing Tax Rates
Fixed Rate vs. Fixed Sum Levies, and the Millage Floor
Inside Millage
• ORC
• Revenue growth
• Single constant rate
Included in Millage Floor
4.8 Mills
Fixed Rate Levies
• Voter approved rate
• Limited growth
• Effective rate by class
• Rate can decrease but not
increase past voted amount
Included in Millage Floor
67.80 Mills (21.03 Mills)
Fixed Sum Levies
• Voter approved amount
• No growth
• Rate adjusted annually
to generate voter approved
amount
Not included in Millage Floor
7.69 Mills (7.07 Mills) = 80.29
Mills (32.898 Mills)
Note: Until a district reaches the state minimum millage, referred to as the “floor,” a district’s
outside fixed rate levies will be adjusted downward to offset inflationary valuation growth.
2024
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Mentor Public Schools
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