WEST LAFAYETTE, IN — Voters living in West Lafayette schools’ district will again be asked to decide whether they approve of an increased tax levy to finance academic programming for the next eight years.
The tax levy is above and beyond the tax caps of 1% of residential gross assessed value. This means that if homeowners’ tax liability regularly hit the cap, the increased tax levy will be applied on top of that cap, increasing owners’ tax liabilities.
That’s nothing new, because West Lafayette residents over the years have approved three increased-tax resolutions for education.
Still, the Tippecanoe County Board of Elections approved the language Tuesday that will appear on West Lafayette residents’ ballots in November.
It reads: “Shall West Lafayette Community School Corporation increase property taxes paid to the school corporation for no more than eight (8) years for the purpose of funding academic programming and operating expenditures and sustaining educational and operational stability in response to reductions in property tax revenue by imposing a property tax rate that does not exceed 57 cents (per $100 of assessed value) and results in a maximum annual amount that does not exceed $16,100,000? If this operating referendum public question is approved by the voters, for a median residence of $350,000, the property’s annual property tax bill would increase by $956 per year. The most recent operating referendum public question proposed by the school corporation was held in 2023 and passed.”
In 2023, the referendum authorized 37 cents per $100 of assessed value to be added to residents’ property taxes, according to Journal & Courier reports. The 2023 referendum was to replace a referendum adopted seven years earlier and was set to expire in 2024.
The 2023 tax increase referendum was approved by 80% of the voters, according to the J&C’s 2023 report.
The numbers of supporters, however, dropped from the 2017 referendum, which carried with 94% approval.
Also on the ballot
All of Indiana’s voters will also face two amendments to the Indiana Constitution.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. The deadline to register to vote in the election or to transfer registration is Oct. 5.
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: West Lafayette schools asking voters to approve increased tax levy
Reporting by Ron Wilkins, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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By Ron Wilkins, Lafayette Journal & Courier | USA TODAY Network
