Macomb, IL – The Macomb School board voted unanimously to raise the district's tax levy for next year, but residents will actually pay less.
A levy represents the amount of tax dollars an entity requests from its constituents to operate various programs for the upcoming year. In the school district's case, the money levied will help pay for operations and maintenance, transportation, special education, and several other areas.
The board agreed to raise the levy for most district funds by .1 percent, which is the maximum allowed this year under McDonough County's tax cap rule.
Superintendent Alene Reuschel says residents won't see an increase on their tax bills because the district is cutting is in other areas.
"What we hope will happen, at least with the rate, is that we're decreasing our debt service by 300,000 [dollars]," says Reuschel. "That should take our rate down because we won't have to levy as much."
Overall, Reuschel says residents can expect to pay about nine cents per 100 dollars of assessed value less than they did last year.
She says the money will be collected this summer to be used for the following school year.