Gilbert school board votes to strike street, utility tax

Jul 8, 2010 — East Valley Tribune

Michelle Reese

Jul. 8, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- The Gilbert Unified School District governing board voted unanimously Tuesday night not to tax property owners for street maintenance and utility projects next year.

The district has $1.8 million in carry-over funds from last year, but the administration had identified $2.2 million worth of projects such as sewer lines, traffic signals, utility access, irrigation engineering, portable placement and more. And, the district had requested the school board raise the $400,000 by keeping an adjacent ways tax the district uses to make such improvements. Instead, the board eliminated that tax for this year and will operate with the $1.8 million from last year's tax.

"The administration provided justification for the projects. They laid them all out and said why they were needed," said board president Thad Stump. "Though the board ultimately agreed that for this year certainly we ought to be able live within that $1.8 million."

Now the administration will make the decision about which projects are completed and which are put on hold, Stump said.

"We can still do a number of the projects," Superintendent Dave Allison said Wednesday. "What I worry about, certainly one of my arguments, is if we use all the $1.8 million next year there won't be any carry-over. And if we have projects, we'll have to ask for a large increase (next year)."

About 20 people showed up for the public "truth in taxation" hearing, something that hasn't happened in years. Stump said the board also received several e-mails about the proposed tax levy. The state requires school districts to hold such a hearing if they plan to spend adjacent ways funds. The state also requires the notice of the hearing to be worded as a tax levy increase based on the entire amount of the budget -- even if funds are available or if the district is actually spending less on adjacent ways than the prior year.

In this case, the hearing notice from Gilbert Unified stated the board was raising the tax levy to cover $2.2 million, not just the $400,000 needed to fill the gap between what was available and the projected budget. That prompted many of Tuesday's audience to attend the hearing.

"That's the first time I've experienced it. Talking to other board members and the administration, they've never encountered people coming to speak to address that levy notice," Stump said.

Had the board approved the additional $400,000, it would have added $1.93 to the primary tax rate for a $100,000 home, Allison said.

As it stands, Gilbert Unified has estimated its primary tax rate for next year to be $2.2503 per $100 of a property's assessed value. The estimate for the secondary tax rate is $0.7780 per $100 of a property's assessed value.

Currently the primary tax rate is $3.0226 per $100 of a property's assessed value and the secondary tax rate is $0.6737 per $100 of a property's assessed value.

The new tax rate will be reflected in the next tax bill sent to Maricopa County property owners by the county treasurer's office. While the overall tax rate for the school district reflects a decrease, a homeowner's tax bill includes other entities -- such as the county, the flood control district and community colleges -- so it may not show a decrease depending on the rates set by other groups.

In other action, the governing board approved the district's $348.7 million budget for the 2010-2011 school year.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0132-46812400