Elmbrook Will Collect $5.6 million Less in Property Taxes

The Elmbrook School Board added $300,000 to the $72 million property tax levy before adopting a final 2011-12 school budget this week.

But this year, taxing to the maximum allowed under state law means Elmbrook will collect about $5.6 million less — for one of its lowest tax levies in years.

Elmbrook had no choice: the state mandated a 5.5 percent cut in the maximum revenue school districts collect. Typically, the state has allowed a 2 percent annual revenue increase.

To help ensure that wouldn't result in teacher layoffs and program cuts, the state passed the controversial budget repair bill, which essentially resulted in Elmbrook teachers offsetting that tax cut by paying a portion of their pension and health insurance costs.

The state's new collective bargaining law — Act 10 — saved Elmbrook about $4 million.

What this all means for most Elmbrook residents: lower school taxes on their December tax bills.

Elmbrook officials estimated the owner of a $300,000 home would see a $198 reduction in their school bill — from $3,207 to $3,009. But that is based on equalized home values, and tax bills are based on assessed values.

Nonetheless, barring an unusual increase in one's assessment, the school portion should be less.

Elmbrook's general fund expenditures for 2011-12 will be $81.04 million, with expenditures for all other funds totaling $30.2 million.

The tax levy will be $72.28 million, or 7.2 percent less than the 2010-11 levy of $77.9 million.

Other major revenue sources — though they pale in comparison to property taxes — include nearly $4 million in Open Enrollment aid, $3.5 million in , $2.6 million in state equalization aid, $831,700 in student fees, $816,000 in tax-exempt computer aid and $502,375 in federal aid.

The School Board also chose to tap the district's fund balance to pay nearly $1 million in roof repairs for the two high schools.

The estimated $1.2 million in savings from the board's is not part of this adopted budget and would be reflected in the 2012-13 budget that the district will begin crafting next month.