MISCONCEPTION

 

Mil stands for million. So each Mil is one million. It actually does not equal a ‘Million"

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REALITY

 

In reality, it stands for ‘millage." 

 

 

Millage is a short-hand term used in levy language to describe the tax rate residents

will pay if the levy passes

 

 

 

1 Mil = 1/1,000 of a dollar.

Or, 1 Mil = $0.001.

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The tax assessment is figured from 35% of the overall value of a property.

Example for 100,000 you would be charged $35.00 on your tax bill.  

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MISCONCEPTION

My property evaluation increased this year. That means I will be paying out more for this levy and everything else. 

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REALITY

No, not exactly. Property tax levies passed in the years previous are only effective at the property evaluation that they were passed. If you are paying a one mil levy passed in 1994, you are paying off the property assessment from that time, not today's. That is what is called the effective RATE.

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This also includes these proposed levies you are looking at now. If either is passed, it will be off your old assessment, not the new one. These were proposed and completed in August. The Village fiscal officer asked this very question to the county auditor to confirm.  

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Finance 101

One main source of revenue is Property Tax, which includes both inside (non-voted) and outside (voted) millage. The village receives limited funding from the State of Ohio, such as: Local Government Funds, Gas Tax, Motor Vehicle Tax, and Permissive Motor Vehicle Tax.    

As mentioned above, the village receives outside millage, which are voted levies approved by the residents of the village only.  A levy is typically for either a 5-year term or a continuous period (ongoing). The biggest misconception with levies is that the more people that move into the village, the more money New Richmond Village will collect from the voted levy. This is not the case. In fact, the Village is capped at an amount at the time the levy passes and will not collect any additional funding above that amount unless it passes a new levy. Therefore, in a growing community like New Richmond Village, in order to capture additional property tax values and increase revenue, new levies must be considered to help offset the increased cost of providing services. 

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To learn more about inside/outside millage and voted levies, reference Understanding Township Funding provided by the Ohio Township Association. While this is a reference to townships, it still applies to the village of New Richmond.

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When it comes to spending, the village, along with other government entities each year, is required to certify funds to the County Auditor to ensure a balanced budget.

This procedure confirms that the village does not allocate or spend more than the revenue received in any given year. New Richmond has several operating funds; however, all but one (General Fund) of those funds are restricted. A restricted fund may only be used for the designated purpose and nothing more. An example of a restricted fund would be the Fire Fund, in which the revenue received for fire services may only be spent on fire and sometimes EMS-related items depending on how it is worded – it cannot be used for roads, police, etc. This is a common misconception when it comes to village funding. 

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New Richmond works diligently by getting multiple quotes for best pricing, collaborating with other entities for bulk purchasing, and investigating all options when it comes to spending taxpayer money in an effort to save money to carry over each year. Allowing for some carryover funds is a smart budgeting practice in an effort to ensure that services can continue in case revenues decrease for unforeseen reasons (i.e., state cuts, property value decreases, etc.). This practice was integral when the State of Ohio made cuts to the Local Government Fund as well as when Estate Tax went away. 

 

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