Genoa schools: Emergency levy up for renewal

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An emergency property tax levy originally approved in 2015 by voters in the Genoa School District, will be on the Nov. 5 ballot as a renewal.
The district administration has been emphasizing that, as a renewal issue, it will not increase the total taxes levied on properties already subject to the tax.
However, Bill Nye, district treasurer, said he is concerned voters may be confused by what they see on the ballot – the issue is stated as a tax levy substituting for an existing levy, although it is just a simple renewal- and think otherwise.
The district initially approved the levy as an emergency measure about a decade ago. It is designed to generate a specific amount of revenue – in this case about $1.2 million annually – rather than collect a specific millage amount.
The substitute emergency levy continues to collect current taxes from current taxpayers and only collects additional revenue on new real property construction without increasing the existing property owner’s tax obligation.
“When there is new construction of residences or businesses within our district, the new construction would bring in additional revenue, the same as what happens with specific millage property tax levies. New construction allows the value of the substitute emergency levy to grow, which reduces the amount needed for future levies and extends the timetable for the need of new levies,” Nye said.
The mechanism that limits the increase in property taxes as valuations rise is set in House Bill 920, a law enacted in the 1970s by the state legislature.
“In Ohio, property taxes are levied on the value of your property. As property values increase, you would typically expect property taxes to go up as well. However, to prevent large tax increases when property values rise, HB 920 reduces the tax rate so that the total amount of money collected by the taxing entity like school district on existing levies remains relatively stable. In other words, the effective tax rate is lowered as property values rise and leaves the amount of tax revenue received by school districts from a renewal levy relatively unchanged,” Nye said.
The district uses revenue from the levy to fund operations such as utilities, building supplies and maintenance, bus fuel and maintenance, purchased services, and personnel.
Additional information about the substitute emergency property tax levy can be found on the Genoa Area Local School District’s website at www.genoaschools.com.