Trego's Mountain Ear

When we started the special levy for Trego School’s Building Reserve Fund, in 2021, the levy was 2.88 mills and raised about $5,000.  There are two reasons why a school needs a special levy for the building reserve – first, the building reserve doesn’t have to be spent during the fiscal year.  The fund can continue to grow and eventually have enough for the big ticket items (roofs seem to be a large expense when they need replacement.  The second reason – in Trego the School Major Maintenance Aid kicks in about $12,000 to go along with the $5,000 your taxes raise. 

When we can raise $17,000 for adding a tax levy that brings in $5,000 – it kind of makes sense.  Our Building Reserve Levy is a fairly new thing for Trego School – and hopefully, five or ten years down the road, when the building needs a major repair, the Building Reserve will cover it.  The school was federally funded as part of the impact funding when the tunnel and railroad relocation came in – but that was back in 1966.  The building is aging, and it seems more responsible to keep it in shape – the Federal government won’t come by with a new one again.

In 2021, it took 2.88 mills to raise that $5,000.  Now, in 2024, the levy is down to 1.96 mills.  At first glance, the levy is down 32% – but that doesn’t speak to financial management.  The levy still raises about $5,000 – but the taxable evaluation of the land has increased, so a lower mill rate raises the same amount.  The problem with tax rates is that the figures don’t lie.

I kind of like the building reserve – but just because the mill rate has gone down, the taxes stay the same.  And that’s OK if you take the time to understand how mills and tax levies work.