HSD 152 levy rate for 2024 tax year declines as inflation eases

After levying an abnormally high amount last year, the property tax rate limit for Harvey School District 152 is now declining as economic pain eases nationwide.

A tax levy is a taxing body’s requested revenue amount, but that doesn’t mean it receives that full share. In Illinois, the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law restricts year-to-year property tax increases to five percent or the rate of inflation, which is based on the consumer price index — whichever is less. 

Anything above that threshold requires state approval. In the south suburbs, it’s not uncommon for financially distressed taxing bodies to set that percentage at 4.99 — the highest amount without having to receive state authorization. 

This year, HSD 152 set a 3.4 percent tax increase, in accordance with the CPI, down from an eight percent state-approved increase seen between the 2022 and 2023 tax years. That translates to a $5.95 million property tax revenue request.

But according to Assistant Superintendent of Business Operations Dana Nichols, residents won’t see an increase in their property tax bills next year because the levy is adjusted for inflation, which is easing, she said during a board presentation on Nov. 18. 

“In [fiscal years] 2022 and 2023, we couldn’t use CPI to do our levy, because we were capped at that 5 percent,” Nichols said. 

In 2023, the district levied 14 percent and held a state-mandated public hearing, in accordance with the Truth in Taxation law. But instead of approving its $6 million request, the state approved the district to receive $5.3 million.

“Not only did we levy kind of high last year, when you look at your tax bills, a lot of the municipalities levied high as well,” Nichols said. “So, they levied so much last year, they probably don’t need to increase the percentage.” 

Nichols’ comments came after a summer of historically high tax bills for south suburban property owners.

According to the Cook County Treasurer’s Office, median residential tax bills grew by 20 percent for south and southwest suburban homeowners. The Cook County Assessor’s Office reassesses properties every three years to determine the market value, which increased. That, combined with an increase of appeals from commercial property owners and a burden shift from them to residential taxpayers, helped surge bills to record highs.

Low tax collection rates in Harvey mean the district ultimately receives even less money than it’s approved for. According to the Cook County Treasurer’s Office, HSD 152 collected only 52 percent of its expected property tax revenue in 2022, for instance.

Collection rates across Cook County fell to a 10-year low in 2024, largely driven by a decline in south suburban collection, the county treasurer Maria Pappas’ wrote in her newsletter. 

“Those low collection rates make it difficult for schools to provide well-rounded education programs and municipalities to deliver basic services,” Pappas wrote, “like police and fire protection and clean, reliable drinking water.”

Real estate taxes only make up 10 percent of the HSD 152 total revenue for the 2025 budget. Majority of revenue, 59 percent, of HSD 152’s funding comes from evidence-based funding, stemming from a 2017 state law designed to provide more equitable opportunities to communities where property tax revenue isn’t enough to provide adequate resources per student. The rest is made up of a combination of state and federal grants and local tax revenue.

The levy is on display for public review at the administrative office, the Riley Administrative Center.

Official business

The board approved contracting Curalinc, a workplace mental health services provider, to offer four counseling sessions per year to staff at an annual cost of $5,313. 

The board approved a maintenance grant for HVAC repairs at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School and a preventative HVAC maintenance plan for Maya Angelou Elementary School. Sendra Service Corp is behind that plan, at an annual cost of $6,405. 

The board unanimously moved to terminate the employment of Deanna Brown. Brown’s case details were discussed during the board’s closed session that evening.

The next regularly scheduled board meeting is Dec. 16 at 6:00 P.M.