Millage: 4.0 mills
Type: Operating Levy
Term: Continuing
Cost to $100K Homeowner: $122.50 annually, $10.20 per month
Property Tax 101 (How Much Will It cost?)
The 4.0 mill operating levy is calculated on the “tax value” of a home, not the market value. The tax value is 35% of the market value, or $35,000 on a $100,000 home, for example. Because government is government, they have to complicate the calculation with credits in the form of rollbacks and exemptions that benefit the homeowner. For our district, those credits total 12.5%. Therefore to calculate what your taxes would be on a $100,000 market value home, multiply by 35% (.35) to get the tax value of $35,000. Multiply $35,000 by .004 (millage put into a number) to get the gross tax. Then reduce the gross tax by 12.5% in credits to get the actual annual cost to the homeowner.
Merger is Not the answer
The taxes for a homeowner in Richmond Heights, if merged with the most logical alternative choice, South Euclid- Lyndhurst (SEL) schools, would raise our homeowners’ taxes 12.5 additional mills, almost twice what we are requesting (See the second literature drop piece for the numbers). The main obstacle is the lack of incentive for another district to want to accept our district. We bring little to the table in terms of financial contribution to another district. Our greatest asset is our small size.
The Ballot Issue Rationale
After four failed levy attempts, the Board of Education decided to limit its request and focus to one specific ballot issue. The Board decided to place a 4.0 mill operating levy on the November 3rd ballot. The size and millage was determined after interpreting community responses and the minimum needs of the district. Additionally, all former operating levies have expired their terms and more cuts are looming.
House Bill 920
A state law that prevents any increase in taxes over the last five years. This bill has halted school funding during a timeframe where costs for operating public school districts have increased significantly.
To Attain an Absentee Ballot or Register for the homestead exemption
Link to Board of Elections.
Link to VIDEO: Superintendent Herrholtz shares his views at a recent Levy Meeting.
