Proposed Tax Levy for D161 Sees Slight Increase

Homeowners could see a slight increase in the Summit Hill School District 161 portion of their property taxes if a proposed levy introduced Wednesday remains.

The proposed tax levy, which was brought before the D161 board at Wednesday's meeting at , is 3.37 percent, up from last year's rate of 3.18 percent.

Dean Gerdes, the district's director of business and finance, stressed that this is strictly an estimate at this point and that the board won't know the final levy until April 2012, when all the information from Will County is in.

"This is just my back-of-the-envelope look right now," Gerdes said. 

Gerdes said the reason for the increase stems from a drop in the property tax base of about $33 million, even though the area has seen a 1 percent net increase in growth this year.

"When the tax base goes down, something has to give," he said. "In this case, it's the overall rate."

Board member Sean William Doyle pointed out that the 2011 proposed levy is the smallest increase year-to-year over the past four years. 

For comparison, here's a look at the tax rates and the amounts levied over the past four years.

Amount levied

The proposed levy will will be discussed by members of the board's newly formed finance committee in November. A public hearing on the levy will be held during the board's first December meeting before it's approved and set by end of that month.

Although rare, Gerdes said the board could approve the levy in December and then review and possibly change it in April of next year. It's not an option normally used by the board, but it is available.