Emmett superintendent: upcoming budget will include no supplemental levy for first time since 2009

Superintendent Woods told the Emmett Independent District board that the budget the district will present includes no supplemental levy, the first time since 2009 the district will seek a budget without that additional taxpayer ask.

Woods said the district will continue to carry only its tort levy and that the proposed budget reflects cuts made to live within available revenues. "We are going to present to the board a budget that does not include a levy," he said.

The superintendent walked the board through the district's levy history to show context for the shift. He said the district's peak supplemental levy was $387 per $100,000 of assessed value in 1999, and that last year the district's supplemental levies amounted to approximately $3.04 per $100,000 because only the tort levy remained. He also described a simple calculator staff uses to estimate what different bond or levy asks would cost taxpayers at current assessed value levels.

Board members asked how the district reached the new position and Woods said several reductions were required. "We had to cut things to get to this point," he said, noting administrative reductions and other cost-control measures.

Finance staff (Crystal) explained timing: the district expects its next base payment from the state in May and final reconciliations in July, with the formal budget summary to be published before the district's budget hearing set for June 9.

Board members raised questions about longer-term capital needs and bonding capacity. Woods estimated, based on current assessed values, a theoretical maximum bonding capacity on the order of roughly $150 million (he described it as 5% of assessed value) and used sample bond ask amounts to illustrate the tax impact per $100,000 of assessed value.

Woods and board members also discussed facilities projects that will be considered within available funds, including asphalt replacement at the high school parking lot, the football-field warranty review with the contractor Wright Brothers, and potential portable placement related to Black Canyon/True North program planning.

The board did not take a formal vote on any levy at the meeting; Woods said the budget will be presented without a supplemental levy and that the board would still have the option to consider different funding measures later if it chose.

The discussion closed with staff and trustees agreeing to continue monitoring state payments, finalize the budget documents and proceed to the public budget hearing in June.