During the meeting, LSCS Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Mott said while the proposed tax rate is the same as last year, there are some slight differences in the values of the two portions that make up the tax rate.
According to Mott, the maintenance and operations rate is being decreased from $0.08 to $0.0737, and the debt service rate is being increased from $0.027 to $0.0341. The changes, she said, will allow LSCS to pay off $18.6 million in debt early and save the college system $11.9 million in interest payments over 20 years.
Mott added the no-new-revenue rate for the fiscal year 2022-23 budget was set at $0.0916, and the presented tax rate of $0.1078 was the voter-approval tax rate based on the certified values received from the state.
The board of trustees approved setting a public hearing for Oct. 6 with a meeting afterward to formally adopt the tax rate. The deadline to do so is Oct. 28.
LSCS has maintained a tax rate of $0.1078 since fiscal year 2016-17.
Editor's note: This story was updated to correct the no new revenue rate to $0.0916 from $0.916.
