D158 Board of Education approves $1.16 million abatement after passing of the 2023 tax levy

HUNTLEY — At the Feb. 8 Huntley Community School District 158 (D158) Board of Education (BOE) meeting, members voted seven to zero to approve a debt abatement of approximately $1.16 million to provide property tax relief to homeowners, according to the district’s Director of Communications and Public Engagement Denise Barr.

As previously reported in My Huntley News, back in December, board members unanimously voted in favor of adopting the 2023 tax levy. The requested aggregate amount of total property taxes to be levied for 2023 would total over $80 million, which reflects a 5% increase over the extension in 2022.

Based on the 2023 tax levy request original estimates, the owner of a home valued at $200,000, with the increase in the Homestead Exemption from $6,000 to $8,000 and no increase in property value (EAV), could see a tax increase of approximately $99.

By decreasing the 2023 levy bond and interest by $1.16 million, the abatement will provide an estimated 1.4% decrease in total property taxes, stated Barr. For the owner of a home valued at $300,000, this could result in a savings of approximately $63.

BOE President Andy Bittman said that the board approved the 2023 tax levy to cover the raising operational costs due to inflation and to address the need for more competitive teacher salaries to attract and retain educators in Huntley.

“The salary gap was growing in comparison to surrounding school districts and we were losing great employees,” Bittman said in a press release statement. “Recruitment and retainment of talented educators will go a long way toward improving student outcomes and achievement. We are thankful to our community for their support and will continue to look for ways to be operationally efficient and fiscally responsible to our taxpayers.”

The newly approved abatement now reduces the tax levy increase to less than 4%.