From the Vincennes Sun-Commercial:
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The board has proposed building an auxiliary gymnasium at the school to serve students but also the community.
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He said the rate will increase slightly above what it’s been this year — “with or without the new gym” — because of the impact of the local tax abatement the county council approved for the new Duke Energy power plant at Edwardsport.
While construction of the $3-billion plant has helped to almost double the total assessed valuation of the school district, helping to significantly reduce the property-tax rate, during the first year of the abatement Duke will pay no property taxes on the facility.
As a result, all the corporation’s property-tax rates will increase.
But as that abatement plays itself out over its 10-year cycle, those rates will drop, and in the case of the Debt Service Fund it will eventually be only a fraction of what it’s been.
Bobe has proposed, and the board supports the proposal, to use some of the future savings property owners are set to receive to pay for the new facility.
He said at worst, the new gym would cost the owner of a $100,000 home less than $12 a year, the owner of a business valued at $100,000 about $36.50, while 100 acres of farm ground would cost its owner almost $60 a year.
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Wednesday’s meeting served as a sort of a dress rehearsal for the state-mandated “1028” hearing to be held at 6 p.m. on Sept. 26 at the cafeteria.
The board will again make its case for the new gymnasium and then vote on whether to proceed.
If it does vote to move forward opponents will have 30 days to gather support to enough signatures to force a district-wide referendum on the project.
http://suncommercial.com/articles/2012/09/19/news/local_news/doc505a7dfe24447879829445.txt
