Mill levy changes are miniscule for Hillsboro taxpayers
School stays same; city goes up 0.003
By JENNIFER WILSON
News editor
Hillsboro homeowners, are you worried that your property taxes will skyrocket next year?
Well, you may pay more if the value of your home went up, but you can't blame the city and the school district.
Both the City of Hillsboro and USD 410 have completed their budgets for 2004, and neither one features mill levies that will put a dent in your wallet.
The city's overall mill levy will increase just 0.003 — a negligible amount that could hurt a $100,000 home by just a few pennies. And the school district's overall mill levy won't change at all.
Read on to see how local governmental bodies are planning to spend your tax dollars next year.
And if you don't like how they're being spent, make your voice heard at that body's public hearing meeting.
USD 410
At its July meeting, the Durham-Hillsboro-Lehigh board of education discussed a plan of attack that would keep the overall mill levy the same as last year's.
They kept with that plan.
The school district will raise the bond and interest mill levy (the fund used to pay debts) by 0.856, from 5.702 to 6.558. That will increase the bond and interest expenditures by about $3,000.
To keep the overall mill levy steady, the local option budget mill levy will go down by 0.856, from 19.197 to 18.341.
But here's where it gets confusing: Although the mill levy will go down, the amount of funds generated will go up.
Why? Because next year, Kansas residents will be required to send in their July 2004 property tax payment one month earlier — in June. This way, money that would normally go into the 2004-05 school year will instead go toward the 2003-04 school year.
And that will produce around $80,000 in excess funds, which the district will keep for the next school year.
Overall, the district's budget for next year is nearly $57,000 less than last year's budget.
Citizens can present their views on the budget to the school board on Monday, Aug. 11. That's the date of the public hearing as well as the board's regular monthly meeting.
City of Hillsboro
The City of Hillsboro will see a very slight increase in its overall mill levy.
Its levy will increase from 41.012 to 41.015 — an increase of 0.003. In practical terms, that means just a few more pennies per year for someone owning a home appraised at $100,000.
But within the budget itself, there will be some mill levy changes.
The mill levy for the general fund, which is partly funded by ad valorem taxes, will go up by 3.632, from 21.551 to 25.183. And in the bond and interest fund, the mill levy will decrease by 3.328, from 5.844 to 2.516.
Other levy changes include a 0.158 decrease in employee benefits and a 0.141 decrease in law enforcement/fire equipment.
In other budget news, the city has decided to eliminate the electric self-insurance fund, which has held more than $380,000 for the past few years.
That money could be used for a city project, possible for the sewer or water plant, or even a new safety center, said Mayor Delores Dalke.
