Property Tax Increase Referendums

by | Mar 25, 2021 | All Posts, Issues, Press Releases, Taxes

Elkhart Community Schools School Board has decided that you should pay more property taxes in order to keep their school system operational. Personally, I do not support this, especially since the Elkhart Community Schools are now at their lowest amount of enrolled students since 2006 according to the Indiana Department of Education’s enrollment numbers for the corporation. Wouldn’t you think that since the student enrollment numbers are at their lowest that your property taxes should decrease?

Let’s think about what has happened over the last few years, the enrollment dropped so much that they consolidated Elkhart Memorial & Elkhart Central High School’s into one building thereby creating less cost for building upkeep & payroll.

To put this in perspective, if you own a home that is valued at $100k, your property taxes will increase by $385. Below I have put into perspective the higher valued properties such as near Simonton Lake or the Saint Joseph River.

Valued at $300k = $1,155 INCREASE
Valued at $400k = $1,540 INCREASE
Valued at $500k = $1,925 INCREASE
Valued at $600k = $2,310 INCREASE

Think About the Businesses & Manufacturing Facilities.Manufacturing is a big industry in Elkhart County, especially with RV’s. But it doesn’t only come from one company say. There are several smaller manufacturers in Elkhart County & Elkhart School System that supply to the big guys that actually put everything in the RV’s. So the increase is even more detrimental to them & we could lose their business in Elkhart County. Elkhart risks losing a lot of the factories when property taxes are increased because it affects their bottom line and they have a choice, either keep the same rate and move somewhere else that may or may not be in Elkhart County OR they can INCREASE their pricing to the various products & risk their buyers going somewhere else.

To put this in perspective, let’s look at the numbers in millions.If a business is:
$1 million property value = $3,850 INCREASE
$2 million = $7,700 INCREASE
$4 Million = $15,400 INCREASE.

And the list can go on. Property tax increases are not the answer. The answer is better use of the money that Elkhart Community Schools already receives for funding.

I strongly oppose any increase in property taxes.