Penny for their thoughts on property tax cuts

Administrators from Belleville High School District 201 and Belleville Elementary District 118 both recently told their school boards that maybe it isn’t a good idea to put the 1 cent sales tax on the Nov. 8 ballot. With a president to elect, state lawmakers and the possibility of an independent map amendment on which to vote, the sales tax to benefit school construction and debt might get lost.

Better to wait until April.

Sure to be fewer voters by then. Only 18 percent came to the polls in the last April election. Also might be fewer angry voters then, or not.

However, the best reason to delay might be to get straight the schools’ message to voters.

A 1-cent sales tax in St. Clair County could mean about $22 million distributed to schools for construction, maintenance, safety and debt on those items. Belleville’s high schools estimated their share at $2.5 million a year.

The money cannot be used for operating costs, such as teachers’ salaries.

It shouldn’t be used just to boost the tax revenue of local schools. It should be used to offset the property taxes paid by residents.

But how do they guarantee that a school board will be accountable to taxpayers when faced with an infusion of revenue? The sales tax money could quickly evaporate.

Schools also want to see what happens with the new state initiative to fix the school funding formula. Voters would like to see what happens to their state income tax bills after state lawmakers in November try to pass a budget. The expectation of higher state taxes and atop the second-highest property tax bills in the nation are unlikely to put voters in the mood to add a sales tax.

So waiting is wise. Also wise would be explaining to voters how school districts plan to use the new money, and we’d suggest they insist on property tax relief as their first line item.

This story was originally published July 22, 2016 at 7:00 PM with the headline "Penny for their thoughts on property tax cuts."