Financial advisers outline levy strategy; board lowers mill rate to $4.80 and continues defeasance planning

Advisers from PTMA presented a multi-part strategy for the district's tax levy and debt management, describing the composition of funds the district uses for operations and debt and walking trustees through several levy options.

Charlie of PTMA explained the levy structure: funds 10 and 38 sit inside the revenue limit while funds 39 and 80 are outside it; equalized value growth — 9.37% last year with roughly 1% net new construction — has pushed districts to consider options that avoid burdening existing taxpayers. "Salem has seen pretty, pretty substantial growth over the last several years," Charlie said. He reviewed four options — no change, match total levy, mill-rate match, or match net new construction — and said the district settled on lowering the mill rate by a dollar to $4.80, which produced roughly a $900,000 additional column in fund 39 while reducing the overall levy by about $800,000 compared with the prior total.

PTMA also reviewed the district's debt profile and recent defeasance work: the large 2022 referendum produced roughly $17 million in refunding bonds, and a prior defeasance applied about $895,000 in principal reduction across outstanding maturities, reducing annual debt service and saving the district roughly $150,000 in long-term interest projections. Charlie said PTMA will continue to refine strategy as official aid and equalized value estimates are finalized in October and after the September student count.