In February 2010 the board ran a two-year program levy (M&O) That levy expires in December 2012. The purpose of this agenda item is to give the board the opportunity to provide direction to the administration on several key decisions that must be made in order to formulate a recommendation.
When shall we run the renewal request?
We have four dates for opportunities to renew the expiring levy in 2012.
Election Date
Ballot Mail Date
Resolution Filing Date
February 14, 2012
January 27, 2012
December 30, 2011
April 17, 2012
March 30, 2012
March 2, 2012
August 7, 2012
July 20, 2012
May 11, 2012
November 6, 2012
October 19, 2012
My recommendation is that the board request the renewal in February 2012. February has the highest success rate for passage of levy and bond requests. Additionally, if we fail to garner the necessary 50%+1 votes we would have the opportunity to run a second request in April, prior to setting our budget for the next fiscal year.
What shall the term be?
In 2010 I requested the board consider a two-year levy. This request was made largely based on anticipation of a volatile economy ahead. The economic future of schools in Washington appear no less certain and I advise the board consider a two-year or a three-year levy term.
What should be considered in determining an amount for the levy?
Over the last ten years the amount of the levy base that is able to be collected has steadily grown from 14.4% to the current 17.5%. This is still 10.5% below the levy lid. Through that period the taxable assessed value (TAV) has increased through a combination of increased individual values and additional property on the tax rolls. The amount paid by the average homeowner has varied but, in most cases, not dramatically. It is generally anticipated that the TAV will decline modestly in the next fiscal year. Beyond that it is anyone's guess. Because we collect a total amount from the district taxpayers the total amount of taxes paid by individuals does not go up or down significantly as their property changes, unless their value changes disproportionate with the community as a whole.
As we develop a recommendation for the board I believe we should consider anticipated continued loss of state resources, including LEA (levy equalization) as well as increased unfunded or underfunded costs such as L&I, retirement rates, utilities, etc. Other considerations are restoration of cuts from extracurricular and school programs.
As a point of information below is the historical data on program levies:
HISTORICAL M & 0 LEVY/TAX RATE INFORMATION
COLLECTION YEAR
AMOUNT COLLECTED
$/1,000
% OF LEVY BASE
ASSESSED VALUATION
% AV INC FROM PY
Est. of AV Change
2012
$3,100,000
$2.33
17.54%
$1,329,779,089.24
-2.0%
-2%
2011
$2,950,000
$2.17
16.58%
$1,356,917,438.00
-1.7%
2010
$2,803,261
$2.03
15.53%
$1,380,882,576.00
2009
$2,595,612
$1.84
15.55%
$1,409,164,540.00
14.5%
8%
2008
$2,403,345
$1.85
15.65%
$1,231,172,526.00
4.7%
7%
2007
$2,246,116
$1.91
14.63%
$1,176,247,053.00
16.2%
4%
2006
$1,970,000
$1.95
15.00%
$1,012,196,383.00
8.4%
2005
$1,876,500
$2.01
15.68%
$933,528,222.00
3.5%
2004
$1,787,100
$1.98
15.56%
$901,577,698.00
13.4%
2003
$1,702,000
$2.14
15.67%
$794,977,607.00
2.7%
2002
$1,426,511
$2.09
14.35%
$773,807,054.00
I anticipate bringing a final recommendation to the board on November 28th and a Ballot resolution on December 19th.