About this time of year we begin to think about
budgets. Our goal is efficiency and
providing the taxpayer with a good return on their investment.
As we begin the process, I gather data for the Board of
Trustees. One piece of information I
shared with them this week is how we compare on local taxation.
You’ll note three slides below. Citizens in Oconee County have millage rates
that are much lower than most school districts (5th lowest in total
and operational millage) in the most current comparison (click
here for the 2001-2010 data from the SC Department of Education and you can
click here
for a good summary of school finance in our state).
We’re extremely lucky in our county because the value of a
school mill in 2010 was approximately $524,538.
You can determine the amount of revenue from local taxes by
multiplying the millage rate by the value of the mill. So, 31 mills for debt service is
approximately $16,261,000 that we can spend yearly to build, maintain, and retire
debt on our building and maintenance program.
The assessed value in Oconee County was approximately $527
million in 2010. The district has the
ability to borrow for capital/building programs approximately $42 million. This is possible because the SC Constitution
allows us to borrow up to 8% of the assessed value.
Because of the amount/value of business and industry in our
community, tax rates are relatively low to the average citizen and
industries.
I thought I would pass along this data this morning.
I thought I would pass along this data this morning.
