do not use this box
Vandalia-Butler City Schools is pursuing a 5-year emergency renewal levy on the November ballot that officials say is needed to help fund the district’s day-to-day operations.
On Tuesday, the school board passed a resolution that would allow Eric Beavers, the district’s treasurer, to ask the Montgomery County Auditor’s Office to certify the total current tax valuation of the school district and to calculate and certify the annual tax levy that would be required to produce $4.4 million. That is the amount that the current levy is generating for the district.
Beavers said the resolution gave him the authority to “ask the county auditor to certify the necessary millage to raise (the $4.4 million).”
The exact millage that could be placed on the November ballot will not be determined until Beavers gets the certification from the county.
The current levy is collecting at a millage rate of 7.11 based upon the current valuation of the district, he said.
“This is no new money,” Beavers said of the proposed levy that will go on the November ballot.
The current renewal levy will be expiring on Dec. 31, 2016, according to Beavers.
“Our position is, the sooner we can go on (the ballot) and get this thing passed, the better we can plan on spending our tax payers’ dollars efficiently,” said Brad Neavin, the district’s superintendent. “We have other opportunities to pass this, should it not pass.”
The auditor’s office has 10 days to produce an auditor certificate for the school district, according to Sam Braun, finance manager for the county auditor’s office.
“At the next (school board) meeting, they pass a second resolution to actually place the levy on the ballot and all the paper work, including the auditor certificate, must then be filed with the board of elections, at least 90 days prior to the election,” Braun said.
About the Author