On November 2, 2021, Greenville City Schools will have on the ballot a request to renew a 4.15 mill emergency levy. This levy, originally passed by the community in the Spring of 2012 for a period of 10 years, is set to expire. The original 2012 levy was passed for the same 4.15 mills as requested on the November 2, 2021 ballot.
The renewal request this November is to continue this levy for another 10 years. The November levy would not go into effect until the original levy passed in 2012 has expired, thus no duplication or additional taxing. Passage of the November levy would just continue the collection for another 10 years, keeping district revenues consistent. This is not new money or a new tax, just a request for a continuance of what is currently in place. Since it is a renewal, rollback and homestead exemptions would still apply.
An emergency levy collects a set dollar amount. For the renewal levy on the November ballot, this amount is $1,640,000 annually. Since the levy cannot collect more than the dollar amount, the 4.15 mill rate presented in ballot language is likely not going to be the tax rate. The 4.15 mill rate was what was needed in 2012 to collect the $1,640,000 annually. Currently, the emergency levy has a tax rate of 3.30 mills (33 cents per $100 of property value), as that is what is needed to collect the requested funds. As long as property values stay consistent or continue to trend upward, the actual tax rate would continue to be lower than the 4.15 mill rate (41 cents per $100 dollar of property value).
Again, the request on the November 2, 2021 ballot is to renew a 4.15 mill levy originally passed by voters in 2012. Passage of the renewal would not be a new tax, and collection on the renewal would not occur until after the original levy has expired, thus no duplicate collection. Renewal of the levy would simply continue the same taxes and revenue for another 10 year period.