NEW BREMEN – New Bremen residents will see a reduction on their 2022 real estate tax bill as well as creation of a savings account for future school projects following action by the New Bremen Schools Board of Education at their meeting Wednesday night, Oct. 20.
Due to lower interest rates along with higher valuation on homes in town, the school district will be able to refinance bonds taken out to pay for the new elementary building construction. The reduction will go from 2.34 to 1.34 mills for home owners. Every mill represents $35 for a $100,000 home. Also, income from 1 mill will to go to the permanent improvement account.
In a written statement shared with the public, Superintendent Jason Schrader explained the situation.
“The New Bremen Board of Education is recommending a millage adjustment that both lowers taxes and provides funding for the permanent improvement (PI) fund. Permanent improvement funds are designated to maintain school facilities and equipment with an estimated life or usefulness of five years or more.” “In review, in May of 2017 the New Bremen community passed a 7.46 school bond levy to construct a new elementary school. The school has been designed and constructed within budget, and the community now has a modern and efficient K-12 school on one campus we can all be proud of.” He went on to say “Since the original bonds were purchased, interest rates have decreased and the value of real estate in the school district has increased. This has put the district in an advantageous position to reduce property taxes.”
He added other costs savings on building the school could be attributed to timing but there were future concerns. “We were very fortunate to build the school prior to the recent inflation of construction materials and labor. In the future however, we will be managing through inflationary effects in supporting the facilities.”
“Therefore, the New Bremen Board of Education is recommending a millage adjustment that both lowers taxes and provides funding for the permanent improvement (PI) fund. Permanent improvement funds are designated to maintain school facilities and equipment with an estimated life or usefulness of five years or more.”
“The estimated millage reduction would be 2.34 and 1 mill will be directed to the permanent improvement fund, resulting in an approximate 1.34 mill reduction to taxpayers. A reminder of how this impacts taxpayers, 1 mill equals approximately $35 on a $100,000 property.”
