New Bloomfield schools to receive $37,000 more in property tax revenue

The New Bloomfield R-3 School District will receive an estimated $37,000 more in property tax revenue generated by this year's $1.2 million increase in assessed valuation in the district and tax rate, Superintendent David Tramel said Thursday.

Tramel said the district's assessed valuation increased from $42.8 million in 2012 to $44 million in 2013.

Prior to its regular August meeting, the New Bloomfield Board of Education conducted a public hearing to set the district's property and real estate tax rate for the coming year. No one appeared at the hearing.

The board set the district's overall real estate property tax rate at $4.3858 per $100 assessed valuation. Tramel said that rate amounts to an increase of 4.46 cents per $100 assessed valuation for the 2013-14 school year. The increase, he said, will produce an extra $37,000 in property and real estate tax revenue for the district.

Tramel said even though the 2.8 percent increase in assessed valuation was more than the benchmark consumer price index increase of 1.7 percent, the actual increase in valuation allowed in calculating the tax rate was only .34 percent or about one-third of 1 percent.

Tramel explained the formula for calculating the tax rate allows the district to subtract property assessment increases in new construction and increases in personal property assessments, mainly vehicle valuations, from the property assessment increases compared to the consumer price index increase.

After this is done, Tramel said, the property assessment increase used in the tax rate calculation amounted to only about a third of 1 percent.

The district's operating tax rate was set at $3.04 per $100 assessed valuation, which is an increase of 4.46 cents over last year.

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.