220 Money Matters

No, the school district’s levy is restricted by PTELL, more commonly known as the TAX CAP, which restricts the levy to CPI or 5%, whichever is less. The board’s approved 6.4% levy is to capture any new growth that has occurred since the last levy.

Sources:

https://go.boarddocs.com/il/barrington220/Board.nsf/files/CL7QWD6845D5/$file/D220%202022%20Levy%20Presentation.111522.db.pdf

Nov. 15, 2022 Barrington Board Meeting Levy Presentation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_d8yb_qui4&t=7s

• District 220 has had a AAA bond rating from Standard & Poor's for past 15 years (one of only 88 districts nationwide to receive AAA bond rating)
• District 220 has had a balanced budget for 26 consecutive years

Source: District 220 website

We found the following information on the district’s website under Referendum FAQs:

In addition, we found the following information in Barrington 220 printed referendum material: 

The Tax Cap’s official name is The Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL).  This law was enacted by the State legislature to protect taxpayers from rapidly growing tax bills.  The law went into effect in 1991.

As a result, Barrington 220’s annual tax levy can only increase by the federal Consumer’s Price Index (CPI).  Additionally, the annual CPI can be no more than 5%. The law also allows the district to increase its levy for newly developed real estate properties.

The result of this law for taxpayers is that the long-term growth in our tax bills will match CPI, not accounting for property improvements that may affect your assessment.

The result of this law for Barrington 220, is that the annual increase in taxes is limited to CPI.

It should be noted that annual changes to taxpayer’s bills and the Districts revenues may be affected by prior year’s adjustment done by the tax assessor to correct errors from previous years.