The property tax rate for the Kokomo-Center School district is expected to see a slight increase next year, according to district officials.
The school board held its annual budget hearing during Monday’s meeting.
The district is proposing an overall budget of $68.6 million for 2013, with $44.9 million coming from the general fund. An estimated 65 percent of the general fund will go to salaries, and another 25 percent will pay for employee benefits.
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Dave Barnes, director of communications for the district, said those figures are similar to last year.
The only fund that is significantly different is the debt service fund, Barnes said. That fund’s budget was increased by $2.425 million.
The corporation took out an interest-free loan from the state that must be repaid in 2013, Barnes said.
“Because of an error in the calculation of the 2012 Capital Projects Fund tax levy, Kokomo-Center was offered an interest-free loan from the state in the amount of $425,000 to recoup the loss,” Barnes said.
The district also took out a $2 million General Obligation Bond this year to pay for renovations at the high school and to create a new traffic flow pattern at Boulevard Elementary School.
That bond will be repaid next year, too, Barnes said.
That increase in the debt service fund may create a small rate increase for taxpayers, Barnes said.
This year’s rate is about $0.75 per $100 of assessed valuation.
The advertised rate for 2013 is $1.37 per $100 of assessed valuation, but that number is inflated, Barnes said. The actual rate will come in much lower, he said.
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The budget will be adopted at the board’s Oct. 8 meeting.
