Westlake Board adopts alternate tax budget, trustees warned district is close to 20-mill floor

The Westlake City Schools Board of Education voted Jan. 12 to adopt an alternate tax budget to submit to the County Budget Commission, a required step for collecting local property tax revenue for fiscal year 2026–27.

During the public presentation, Speaker 1 explained the board set the district’s maximum authorized rate at 68.4 mills but said that the district’s current effective rate is about "25 mills overall and around 22 mills of general fund." The presenter cited House Bill 920 (1976), saying that as property values rise the effective millage decreases, and warned the district is “creeping very close to that 20 mil floor.”

The presenter told the board that the tax-budget figures are estimates because the county and state had not yet certified tax rates; certified schedules were still pending. He said the district used last year’s numbers in the draft where necessary and that the alternate-budget procedure is a standard annual filing.

The board also received an overview of outstanding debt. The presenter said the district will pay off its qualified school construction bonds this year and that a large balloon payment — described as about $11,000,000 — had been set aside to cover that obligation. He summarized remaining refunded and refinanced bond issues and the district’s projected debt service going forward.

After brief discussion about timing — including a suggestion that property-tax bill advances might move from January to February this year because of state and county rate delays — the board moved to adopt the resolution authorizing submission of the alternate tax budget. Roll-call votes were recorded and the motion carried.

The board’s next procedural step is submission of the adopted alternate tax budget to the County Budget Commission and, when rates are certified, finalizing levy-related calculations for public reporting and tax-billing purposes.