Taxpayers could save about $40 on proposed 2024 DeKalb School District 428 property tax bill

DeKALB – The DeKalb School District 428 Board this month gave a first-round nod to its 2024 property tax levy, with plans to collect about $84 million in revenue, more than 10% what was collected last year, according to district calculations.

However, the total is only an estimate, and the final figure won’t be available to officials until March 2025 when assessed property values are finalized. A second-round vote and public hearing on the district’s property tax levy is expected at the board’s Dec. 17 meeting.

The board was presented at a recent meeting with five different estimated property tax levy scenarios to give consideration to. Those include:

• Scenario one: A $96.7 million property tax levy with a .052 tax rate. Under this proposal, a DeKalb homeowner who’s property is valued at about $313,308 would likely pay about $277 more than in 2023 on the school district’s portion of their property tax bill, according to district calculations.
• Scenario two: An $83.1 million levy with a 0.048 tax rate. Under this proposal, a DeKalb homeowner might save about $96 compared to their 2023 bill.
• Scenario three: An $84 million property tax levy with a 0.048 tax rate. Under this proposal, a DeKalb homeowner might save about $40 compared to their 2023 bill.
• Scenario four: An $85.5 million property tax levy with a 0.049 tax rate. Under this proposal, a DeKalb homeowner would likely pay about $50 more to the district than their 2023 bill.
• Scenario five: An $84.7 million property tax levy with a 0.049 rate. Under this proposal, a DeKalb homeowner would pay about the same as their 2024 tax bill as they did in 2023 to the district.

“If we take that, there are still some savings that DeKalb Township will see and the average taxpayer in our townships will see up to $40,” said Armir Doka, the district’s director of business and finance, of the district’s third levy proposal.

The school board backed scenario three, unanimously authorizing its publication. Originally, Doka asked the board to support the fourth option, which would have seen taxpayers owe about $50 more this year on their bills. Only Board President Deyci Ramirez and Board Secretary Ariel Owens voiced support of that plan, however.

Board member Steven Byers and Board Vice President Christopher Boyes said they would like to do more for the taxpayers.

“We do a little bit for our taxpayers, especially since some of us did not keep our tax bill the same last year,” Byers said. “I think we owe it to the taxpayers to do more than just kind of what [scenario] four is.”

Boyes agreed.

“I also think option three keeps about very level and on the nose,” Boyes said. “I would say that with everything going up, at least keeping it level, to me, is still trying to do right by our taxpayers.”

Under scenario three, the district would levy about $84 million, up from last year’s $76.2 million collected in property tax revenue, school board documents show.