North Cook News

At the Nov. 16 meeting of the Fairview District 72 Board of Education, Jeff Feyerer, assistant superintendent for finances and operations, went over the 2022 tax levy and explained how his team reached the 4.99% request.

“This year with us going over 5% it would seem kind of odd when I am projecting that we're probably not going to get anything close to that, to then go above that 5%," Feyerer said during the meeting. "Could we? Absolutely. Is there a problem with it? No, because a number of districts are doing that. But if I'm saying based on these variables, I don't think that we're going to come relatively close to that number. I don't see any sense of doing that to go out there and say, hey, we're asking for 7-8% more in tax money from our constituents, from our taxpayers. So there's a number of reasons right there why I think that the request of 4.99% will put us in a good position still.”

Feyerer explained to the board the details and importance of the district’s annual levy. The levy amounts to over 70% of the district’s budget each year and is its yearly request for funding. The actual amount that it receives is determined by the county assessor in the spring based on the year’s tax rates and inflation, so the collection does not always equal the extension.

“The important thing to remember is a levy is a request for money, we have very little control in the process,” Feyerer said. 

This is the first year where the law on tax caps comes into play. The district is allowed to request a rate of the year’s Consumer Price Index (CPI, or the inflation rate) or 5%, whichever is lower. This year's CPI is 7%, so the district is capped at a 5% request. The district has to make its request using estimates of the CPI and EAV, as the final numbers won’t be determined by the assessor until months after the deadline for the levy request.

The district is recommending a 4.99% request for the tentative levy. They will vote on the final levy in December, giving the community time to bring their thoughts to the board. The 4.99% keeps the district below the mandatory public hearing for a 5% request and should bring in enough funding for the district; the only taxes they could potentially miss out on with this number would be a large amount of new property in the district, which is not expected to happen.

The board will meet again at 7 p.m. on Dec. 21 at 7040 Laramie Ave. in Skokie.