SALEM District to take 1.3 mills off taxes
The new treasurer discovered the oversight while reviewing district finances.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- The school district is taking steps to remove 1.3 mills of property taxes that is still being collected for a debt that's already been paid off.
The school board took action Monday to remedy the problem, which was only discovered recently.
The panel authorized the district to go to Columbiana County Common Pleas Court to seek authorization to remove the excess millage from the tax rolls.
The 1.3 mills should be off by the time the 2004 first-half property tax bills are issued next year, Treasurer Alice Gunning said today.
The removal will save the owner of a home worth $100,000 about $40 a year.
Background
The 1.3 mills was added to the tax rolls in 1990 when the district borrowed about $2.4 million to pay for renovations to Reilly Stadium and to make general improvements in school buildings.
The loan was for 20 years, but it was paid off early. The debt was retired sometime in 2001 or 2002. Gunning said she wasn't immediately sure when.
The 1.3-mill obligation could have been removed at that time, but it wasn't, Gunning said.
Gunning, who took over as district treasurer in March, discovered the oversight as part of her review of district finances.
Superintendent Dr. David Brobeck said it's unclear why former Treasurer Ted Cougras didn't advise the board to remove the millage when the $2.4 million debt was paid off.
Courgras resigned in December just before a criminal investigation was mounted by the county prosecutor's office into treasurer's office activities.
Brobeck said he does not believe the collection of the 1.3 mills will be the subject of that probe.
In the period since the debt has been paid off, the 1.3 mills has produced about $1.6 million in revenue for the school district.
Gunning said the school board must decide how to use the money.
It should go toward a use that's in line with the intent of the original 1990 loan, she added.
With that in mind, the school board could opt to use the $1.6 million to make school building improvements, Gunning added.