TO: Mayor Thomas J. Weisner
FROM: Brian W. Caputo, Chief Financial Officer/City Treasurer
DATE: December 4, 2013
SUBJECT: title
An Ordinance Authorizing and Providing for the Abatement of Special Service Area Tax Levies, 2013 Tax Levy Extension
body
PURPOSE:
To obtain the City Council's approval of a proposed ordinance that would serve to partially abate the 2013 SSA property tax levy for 34-series SSAs.
BACKGROUND:
From 1996 through 2000, the City of Aurora established seven SSAs in Kendall and Will Counties, SSAs 34A through 34G. (SSA 34C2 was added in 2001.) Initially, the SSA property taxes generated from these "34-series SSAs" served to provide resources to operate Fire Station #12 until the money generated from the corporate levy was sufficient to cover the station's operating costs. Since 2000 (with the 1999 tax levy), the revenues received from the corporate levy have been sufficient to cover those costs.
Under the enabling SSA ordinances, SSA property taxes from 34-series SSAs are to be used to provide for the construction of elementary schools to serve the children living in those SSAs once the corporate levy upon the SSAs has provided enough revenues to support the operation of Fire Station #12. In 2000, the city issued a series of installment contract certificates (ICCs) to finance the construction of one elementary school for the SSAs. A series of debt certificates was issued in 2002 to assist in financing the construction of a second elementary school. The schools are located in Oswego School District 308 and that school district built the school buildings as the city's agent.
Ordinance No. O02-15, approved by the City Council on February 12, 2002, provided for the levy of SSA property taxes each tax levy year from 2002 through 2019 to generate the money necessary for principal and interest payments on the Series 2002 Debt Certificates.
On December 19, 2006, the city issued its Series 2006 Refunding Debt Certificates. These certificates refinanced the Series 2000 ICCs and resulted in a $344,489.77 net present value savings for the property owners in 34-series SSAs.
On September 11, 2012, the city issued its Series 2012D Refunding Debt Certificates. These certificates refinanced the Series 2002 Debt Certificates and resulted in a $389,470.73 net present value savings.
DISCUSSION:
On December 14, 1999, through the City Council's passage of Resolution No. R99-515, the city entered into an intergovernmental agreement with Oswego School District 308. That agreement provides for the city to apply the elementary school portion of land-cash fees received from the sale of 34-series SSA properties to the principal and interest payments on debt issued to construct the elementary schools.
With the sale of homes in the 34-series SSAs, the city has collected sufficient land-cash fees to permit the application of $15,000.00 to debt service on the Series 2012D Debt Certificates in 2013. Therefore, the proposed ordinance would abate the original 2013 debt service levy for the Series 2012D Debt Certificates ($544,350.00) by $15,000.00. The result would be a net 2013 levy of $529,350.00 for the 2012D issue. The total 2013 debt service levy for 34-series SSAs (i.e., for all outstanding SSA debt) will be reduced from $1,192,350.00 to $1,177,350.00 because of the abatement.
With the abatement, the 2013 SSA property tax rate for the 34-series SSAs is expected to be less than $0.50 per $100.00 of equalized assessed value. For 2012 (taxes paid in 2013), the rate was about $0.4421.
IMPACT STATEMENT:
Not applicable.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council approve the attached, proposed ordinance that would serve to partially abate the 2013 SSA property tax levy for 34-series SSAs.
cc: Alderman O'Connor, Chairman
Alderman Mervine
Alderman Bohman
Alderman Peters, Alternate