Collinsville voters will see three referendums on the April 9 ballot asking them to decide whether to reduce the percentage of taxes the Collinsville Area Recreation District receives.

Mark Achenbach initiated the referendums after he researched what it would take to reduce the taxes collected by the district. He is also running uncontested for a seat on the CARD board.

"In fall 2011, we discovered a provision in the state law that allows a referendum to change the maximum rate on some taxes," he said. "Part of CARD's tax rates fall into that maximum rate category."

Achenbach said he believes CARD has wasted taxpayer money in the past and wants to reduce the amount of money the district receives from taxpayers.

In September, Achenbach and several volunteers went out and gathered signatures on a petition to get the referendums on the ballot.

"We went out and collected over 2,500 signatures," he said. "The referendums are on the ballot now and this will be an opportunity for voters to vote in a way that will affect their property taxes."

Although taxpayers only see one tax for CARD on their property tax bill, the CARD taxing district has 11 separate taxes. Three of the taxes, which are collected by CARD but allotted for different purposes within CARD, can be reduced by 25 percent by using a referendum. The three taxes are: General Corporate Tax, which funds the corporate costs for the district; the Recreation Tax, which is used for planning, establishing, and maintaining recreational programs in the district; and the Museum Tax which is used to rehabilitate, operate, maintain, and care for museums and the building and grounds of the district.

The Aquatics Fund, which comes from entry fees, pays for the operations at Splash City.

If all three of the referendums pass, the overall property tax received by CARD will be reduced by about 4.5 cents per $100 of assessed property value, which equals about 10 percent of the CARD tax rate.

"We'd have to reduce our budget by more than $250,000," said CARD Executive Director Terry Wilson. "That's how much it would be if all three referendum pass. What that would mean to me is we'd have to make some adjustments in either services, or the number of employees. Something would have to give with that amount."

CARD's annual budget is $1.4 million.

Wilson took the executive director position last summer.

"We are in the process of cutting everything down now. We are dealing with past baggage and doing what I have to do to streamline and it's been quite a challenge. If the referendums pass, it could affect programs. There are certain programs that we may not do if we don't have the revenue," he added. "It's hard to pin down. I have a board of five commissioners that have a say in what they would want to do, what they would want to cut. In this economy, everybody wants their taxes to be lower, and I can't blame anybody for that, but, there is another side, too. We would have to look at priorities, discuss them with the board, and make decisions from there."

If the referendums pass, the cuts would go into effect in 2014.

The referendums, as they will appear on the April ballot, are:

* Corporate Tax Referendum

"Shall the maximum tax rate for all corporate purposes of the Collinsville Area Recreation District, Madison and St. Clair Counties, Illinois, be established at .0563 percent of the equalized assessed value of the taxable property herein instead of .0750, the maximum rate otherwise applicable to the next taxes to be extended?"

1. This change is proposed to reduce the funds available for overhead expenditures.

2. The maximum levy extendable under the current rate is $450,076. The maximum levy extendable under the proposed rate would be $337,857.

3. The approximate maximum allowable tax extendable on a single family home with a Fair Market Value of $100,000 is $25 under current tax rate and would be $18.75 under the proposed tax rate.

* Recreation Tax Referendum

"Shall the maximum tax rate for purposes of planning, establishing and maintaining recreational programs for the Collinsville Area Recreation District, Madison and St. Clair Counties, Illinois, be established at .0563 percent of the equalized assessed value of the taxable property herein instead of .0750, the maximum rate otherwise applicable to the next taxes to be extended?"

1. This change is proposed to reduce the funds available for overhead expenditures.

2. The maximum levy extendable under the current rate is $450,076. The maximum levy extendable under the proposed rate would be $337,857.

3. The approximate maximum allowable tax extendable on a single family home with a Fair Market Value of $100,000 is $25 under current tax rate and would be $18.75 under the proposed tax rate.

* Museum Tax Referendum

"Shall the maximum tax rate for the purposes of establishing, acquiring, completing, erecting, enlarging, ornamenting, building, rebuilding, rehabilitating, improving, operating, maintaining and caring for aquariums and museums and the building and grounds thereof of the Collinsville Area Recreation District, Madison and St. Clair Counties, Illinois, be established at .0225 percent of the equalized assessed value of the taxable property herein instead of .0300, the maximum rate otherwise applicable to the next taxes to be extended?"

1. This change is proposed to reflect the lower revenue requirements for this fund due to CARD's divestiture of the Miner's Institute.

2. The maximum levy extendable under the current rate is $180,030. The maximum levy extendable under the proposed rate would be $135,023.

3. The approximate maximum allowable tax extendable on a single family home with a Fair Market Value of $100,000 is $10 under current tax rate and would be $7.50 under the proposed tax rate.

Contact reporter Jennifer A. Schaaf at jschaaf@bnd.com or 618-239-2667.