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Show School tax increase hiqhest percent in state A rent report by the Utah Tax- ! VbL Association comparing all districts in Utah put the Uintah fiool District far above any other net for school property taxes in-"fS(i in-"fS(i m 1982 compared to estimated Ux m 1983. report showed the Uintah ly -1 arillg $7,144,000 in property " 1982 and increasing that amount ' Pent to $10,939,000 in 1983. Di$trTS released from e Uintah j(L , offlce vary from those quoted Pe p Iax association-s report, but the in the" f lncrease is sti11 the highest feaJ 3f6' e avera8e percent of instate in-state 0 311 scho1 d'stricts in the is 9 percent. The next highest in-1 in-1 tM?JS m Wavne Countv with 34 per- ijard Tolley, Uintah School Nert ' attributed the increase in thine S t0 be collected to three Bim ievI!Creased Capital 0utlay Fund tion a n lncreased assessed valua-1laintP'! valua-1laintP'! an increase in the ; levy. ance a"d Operation Fund mill The I rease faCtr contributing to the i that th" tax revenue to be receiv- ' over is a Schoof board has control J Capital n m'" increase in the ' P'lal ay Fund to repay a $16 million bond for a new high school and junior high auditorium. The bond election elec-tion passed by a narrow margin March 16 with the school board promising only on-ly a 2.5 mill increase in taxes. Adding to the increased capital outlay mill, is another 1.55 mill increase in-crease set by the state in the Maintenance and Operation Fund. State law stipulates that when a county is reassessed, as was the case in 1982, so that school districts don't receive a windfall profit, the Maintenance and Operation mill levy set by the state at 23.25 mills is lowered so that the district doesn't receive more than a 6 percent increase. During the years after a reassessment the Maintenance and Operation Budget mill levy is increased increas-ed until it is back to the 23.25 level. The 1983 increase in Maintenance and Operation is to bring the mill back to the state level, Tolley said. According to Tolley, the main contributor con-tributor to the amount of taxes received receiv-ed by the school district in an increase in assessed evaluation in Uintah County Coun-ty The increase is projected to be S100 million higher in 1983 than in 19S2. A major contributor to the increase in assessed valuation for Uintah County is an increase in taxable property on the Bonanza Power Plant. Value of the plant will increase from $15 million last year to $61 million in 1983. Tolley predicts the increase in county coun-ty assessed valuation to be at $347,371,059 up from $252 million in 1982. The increased assessed valuation coupled with a higher mill levy will bring $3,674,103 more into the school district. But things aren't too rosy because of the increases. Because of the Uniform School Fund which guarantees each student in Utah a minimum level of education, there will be a substantial increase in the amount of local funds in the school budget and a decrease in the amount of state funds. State funds will decrease from 51.6 percent in 1982 to 37 percent in 1983. Local funds will increase in-crease from 41 percent in 1982 to 56 percent in 1983. As local property tax revenues increase in-crease without an increase in students, as they will this year, state funds shrink proportionately, Tolley said. Should the 23.25 mill levy required by the state ever generate more than SI, 103 per weighted pupil unit or S6. 728. 300. local tax dollars 'vould be taken by the state to provide fusing for poorer schooi districts. |