CG-Belgium district tax rate falls

The Cedar Grove-Belgium School Board approved its 2018-19 budget on Oct. 24, minutes after receiving unanimous support from a tiny crowd at the annual meeting.

Besides board members, who are all residents and allowed to vote at the annual meeting, only two staff members who live in the district voted on resolutions.

By a 9-0 vote at the annual meeting and then a 7-0 vote by the board, a tax levy of $5,611,159, which is the maximum allowed by law, was approved.

That is $1,921 less than last year’s levy, thanks to a decrease in voucher school costs.

State aid fell by $161,485 due to a decrease in enrollment of 16 students from 1,054 to 1,038.

Included in the levy is the non-referendum school debt fund, which fell from $101,000 to zero since the fitness center was paid off last year.

The community service fund increased from $35,000 to $55,000 with Athletic Director Scott Parsons moving to a full-time position with the addition of the recreation department coordinator duties.

The corresponding tax rate is $9.44 per $1,000 of equalized property value, which is 39 cents less than last year.

That means the owner of a $200,000 home will pay $1,888 in school taxes.

Equalized value in the district increased by nearly $23 million, including a nearly $12 million increase in the Village of Belgium, $8 million in Cedar Grove and $5 million in the Town of Belgium. The Town of Holland’s value decreased by $2.1 million, while the Town of Sherman’s remained flat with nearly a $6,000 increase.

The total budget is just more than $15 million.

In what has become a regular proposal at the annual meeting, high school principal Josh Ketterhagen proposed increasing school board member salaries from $1,000 to $1,100 for officers, $900 to $1,000 for members and from $20 to $30 for meeting attendance.

The motion, which annually fails, again was turned down by a 6-2 vote.