Valley View to Hold Special Meeting on Tax Levy Amendment Thursday

The meeting will be held at the VVSD Administration Center, 755 Dalhart Avenue, Romeoville at 5:30 p.m.

The Valley View School District 365U Board of Education will meet at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 11, to consider an amendment to the 2012 tax levy. The meeting will be held at the VVSD Administration Center, 755 Dalhart Avenue, Romeoville. It is open to the public. You can read the amendment to the tax levy here. 

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Downtown Plans Continue to Move Along

The village board hired Hitchcock Design Group Wednesday to help design the downtown area. Also, trustees voted to redevelop Village Park and adopted this year's tax levy.

Plans continue to progress on Romeoville’s new downtown initiatives, with the village board Wednesday signing off on a contract with Hitchcock Design Group to help develop the look and feel of the downtown center. Hitchcock will design the public spaces for the new downtown that will focus on the new Athletic and Event Center, an $8 million project that will house indoor soccer, basketball and volleyball along with multipurpose rooms for community events. In addition to the new Athletic and Event Center, the village will demolish the Spartans’ Square shopping center and build a new storm water management facility, public off-street parking, new on-street parking and create streetscape improvements. According to village documents, Hitchcock…

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Plainfield Schools to Increase Tax Levy; Public Hearing Slated for Dec. 17

Under proposal, District 202 would collect 20 percent more in taxes next year.

Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 plans to ask the Will and Kendall County clerks for $197,866,981 in local property taxes (including bond and interest) through the district’s 2012 levy. The Board will hold a public hearing on the levy, as required by law, at its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 17, at the district administrative center, 15732 Howard St., Plainfield. The board is expected to vote on the proposed 2012 levy later during the same meeting. The proposed 2012 levy request is about 20 percent higher than the 2011 extension of $164,889,151 (including bond and interest). READ: Plainfield School District Deficit Projected at $1.8 Million The levy is the school district’s official request for its share of…

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JJC Levy Going Up, But Where is the Money Going?

This year's increase was nearly 17 percent and the total increase since the 2008 levy has been about 41 percent, letter writer says.

Dear Editor, The Joliet Junior College Board unanimously approved a tax levy hike on Dec. 13. Board members Jeff May, Bob Wunderlich, Susan Klen, Dan O’Connell, Mike O’Connell and board President Barbara Delaney voted yes to the 16.94 percent increase.  The levy increase was $8,008,978. Last year’s levy was $47,287,997; the levy for fiscal year 2012 is $55,296,975. This early Christmas present will significantly affect each taxpayer’s property tax bill in the new year, including those who live in Plainfield. Add this to the levy increase of about $2 million in 2010 and $5.5 million in 2009, and the total JJC levy increase since the 2008 levy -- the start of the recession -- is approximately 41 percent.   This is a large tax burden while …

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Sheila Raddatz

7:45 pm on Friday, January 6, 2012

Admittedly, I have not been to the campus for a couple months. Last night, I finally went in to the new big white building that houses the bookstore and registration. I was blown away on how beautiful and professional the building looked. The parking lot had ample lighting, too. Nice improvement!   more ›

From the Editor

A Look Ahead: Stories to Watch in 2012

From elections to electricity aggregation, what issue do you think will dominate the headlines in 2012?

Last week, I spent time looking back at the events and people that defined 2011 for Romeoville. This week, it's all about looking ahead and what stories will be shaping the upcoming year. Here are the five headlines that I think will be dominating headlines in the months to come: The Village of Romeoville has placed a referendum on the March ballot, asking voters for the go-ahead to allow a group of communities to negotiate electricity rates for residents. Romeoville, Bolingbrook and Lemont are among more than a dozen Will County Governmental League communities looking into electric aggregation, which means combining the electrical loads of each community, with the league acting as a broker to try to secure the best rate for residents. …

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Village OKs $13.9 Million Levy Request

The actual levy — and corresponding tax rate — won't be known until the village completes its 2012 budget process in the spring, officials say.

Village of Romeoville trustees signed off on a $13.9 million 2011 tax levy request, an 8.15 percent increase over last year’s $12.8 million total levy. But the actual levy — or the amount of taxes collected by the village from residential, industrial and commercial property owners to pay its operating costs for the coming year — may not amount to such a large increase when all is said and done. “Every year, we do set the initial levy artificially high for various reasons,” said village Finance Director Kirk Openchowski. That’s because taxing bodies are required to file their levy requests with the Will County Clerk by the end of December, long before the actual property values are known. A second ordinance approved Wednesday by trustees …

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School District Hopes to Weather Financial Storm With Savings, Investments

Board OKs tentative tax levy as revenues continue to decrease

Many households are feeling the pinch these days, struggling to find creative ways in which to pay mounting bills with dwindling paychecks. And it’s no different at Valley View School District 365U, as the school district faces decreasing tax revenues for the third year in a row.  A report from Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services Gary Grizzafi detailing the history of the district’s EAV (equalized assessed valuation) each levy year since 1988 shows tax revenues down by 2.94 percent for 2009 and 3.61 percent for 2010.  But based on estimates from the county assessor’s office, in 2011, the EAV is projected to be 6.31 percent less than last year’s figures. And according to Grizzafi, 76 percent of the district’s revenues this …

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School Board to Vote on 2011 Tax Levy

Proposal is a 4.77 increase over last year's levy, but will likely be adjusted downward once property value totals are known.

Board members are scheduled to vote tonight on the estimated 2011 tax levy for Valley View School District 365U. The tentative levy request would seek just more than $149 million in property taxes, which make up about 76 percent of the district’s revenues. The amount represents a 4.77 percent increase over last year’s extension of $142 million. While the final levy is scheduled to be adopted on Dec. 12, the district will have until April 1, 2012, to make adjustments. According to a report from Assistant Superintendent for Admistrative Services Gary Grizaffi, the requested levy amount will likely be higher than the actual levy. That’s because this year’s equalized assessed valuation (EAV) of all properties within the district and new …

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Kristie

3:15 pm on Thursday, November 17, 2011

peteee363, You haven't answered any of the questions. You said that merit pay "works for everybody in the private sector" but you are wrong. As has already been said, doctors, dentists, nurses...are all paid more when their "students" fail to do what they have been taught to do. You compare private schools to public schools but you forget that private schools get to pick and choose which students…   more ›