August 8 Ballot Information

NOVI COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
OPERATING MILLAGE PROPOSAL

This proposal will allow the school district to levy the number of mills required to be levied to
enable the school district to receive its revenue per pupil foundation allowance.

Shall the total limitation on the amount of taxes for operating purposes which may be assessed against all property, except principal residence and other property exempted by law, in Novi Community School District, Oakland County, Michigan, be increased by 19 mills ($19.00 on each

$1,000 of taxable valuation) and against all principal residences, qualified agricultural property, qualified forest property, supportive housing property, property occupied by a public school academy, industrial personal property and commercial personal property by 5.49 mills ($5.49 on each $1,000 of taxable valuation), both millages to be for a period of 11 years, 2023 to 2033, inclusive; the estimate of the revenue the school district will collect from combined local property taxes authorized herein if the millage is approved and levied in 2023 is approximately $775,799 and levied in 2024 is approximately $18,735,442?

NOVI COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
MILLAGE RENEWAL PROPOSAL TO PROVIDE FUNDS
TO OPERATE A SYSTEM OF PUBLIC RECREATION AND PLAYGROUNDS

This proposal will allow the school district to continue to levy public recreation millage previously
approved by the electors.

Shall the limitation on the amount of taxes which may be assessed against all property in Novi Community School District, Oakland County, Michigan, be increased by and the board of education be authorized to levy not to exceed 0.9365 mill ($0.9365 on each $1,000 of taxable valuation) for a period of 10 years, 2024 to 2033, inclusive, for the purpose of providing funds for operating a system of public recreation and playgrounds; the estimate of the revenue the school district will collect for such recreation program if the millage is approved and levied in 2024 is approximately $2,638,033 (this is a renewal of millage that will expire with the 2023 levy)?

As a result of Proposal A, the statewide school finance reform that voters passed in 1994, the vast majority of Michigan school districts must levy an 18 mill local property tax on non-homestead property for a specific time period in order to receive their full per-pupil funding. The operating millage provides critical funds to support the day-to-day operations of schools, including but not limited to staffing costs, instructional programs, instructional materials, transportation and maintenance. This money cannot credibly be replaced by other sources.

A mill is $1.00 for every $1,000 of taxable valuation on property. Example: If a commercial property has a $100,000 taxable value, then the 18 mill operating millage would cost $1,800 on that property.

Per pupil funding in the state of Michigan is a combination of state and local funds. The Novi Community School District’s per pupil funding is $9,369 per student.

We receive our per pupil state funding if our community contributes through two operating millages. If our community does not contribute these two operating millages then our per pupil funding will be reduced accordingly.

Composition of State Per Pupil Foundation Allowance
Local tax revenue - non-homesteads/businesses       $ 2,739
Local tax revenue - homesteads/primary residence $    139
State Per Pupil Foundation Allowance (less local)     $  6,491
Total State Per Pupil Funding                                         $  9,369

A non-homestead property is any property that is not an owned primary residence. Examples of non-homestead properties include vacation homes and industrial, commercial, business, investment and rental properties.

The first millage is the non-homestead millage, an 19 mill tax levy against businesses, rental and second homes (non-homestead properties). The maximum legal tax rate on non-homestead properties is 18 mills, so that is the maximum that would ever be levied against those properties. This millage was previously approved and renewed in 1994, 2004 and 2013. It will again expire with the 2024 winter tax levy.

The State also allows Novi to levy an amount that would raise $310 per student under current calculations. This second millage is the hold-harmless millage that. The authority for Novi to levy this millage was given by the State in 1993 when “Proposal A” started in order to keep Novi’s funding at its then-current level. The state allows us each year to be “held harmless” by levying a tax on principal residences for that purpose and which is to generate $310 per student this year. When originally authorized by the State, a millage level of 5.49 mills was established.

No. This proposal would be a reauthorization of the non-homestead operating millage and the hold-harmless millage last approved by voters in 2013. The duration requested for the reauthorization is 11 years.

No. Your home property tax rate would be unaffected because the non-homestead tax does not apply to primary residences and homeowners will continue to pay what they have been paying for the hold harmless millage since 1994. A person’s owned principal residence (and other qualified properties) is exempted by law from non-homestead taxation.

Yes. Regardless of which district a business may be located within Michigan, a school district must levy the operating tax in order for it to receive its full funding from the State of Michigan.

The 19 mills includes an extra 1 mill to allow the district to offset future shortages. The district will never be able to collect more than 18 mills, but the extra 1 mill will prevent the district from taking the issue back to the voters within the proposal’s 11-year period.

It currently takes only a levy of 1.1100 mills to generate $310 per student because of current property values. On the ballot will be a proposal for renewal of the full 5.49 mills. The renewal of 5.49 mills allows the school district some flexibility in the event of declining property values, but it may never levy an amount that would generate more than the state-capped per student amount ($310 per student), based on the Proposal A formula.

The millage renewals are for 11 years, from 2023 through 2033.

If renewed, these operating millages will generate approximately $21 million for the operations of the school district per year. These vital funds allow us to retain our top-ranked teachers and staff members as well as offer services such as transportation, extracurricular activities, and our core academic programs.

The 2023-24 General Fund budget is approximately $95 million. The operating renewal generates approximately 22% of the operating budget. Most funding for our school comes from the State of Michigan, but we still greatly rely on our local support to fund our operation.

If the operating millage renewal fails, every operation of the school district will be closely analyzed in order to cut from the future budget. The district relies on these funds because we can use them to fund services and our staff unlike bond dollars which can only be used on facilities.

Novi Community School District is currently levying 17.2472 mills. Starting in 2015, Novi Community School District received its first Headlee Rollback. Rollbacks since 2015 have collectively permanently reduced the 18 mill operating levy down to 17.2472 mills. The only method of restoring this millage back to 18 mills is through voter action.

In 1978, Michigan voters approved the “Headlee” tax limitation amendment to the Michigan Constitution. It requires local units of government, including school districts, to reduce millages when annual property values increase greater than the rate of inflation.

Districts cannot avoid a Headlee Rollback. However, in an effort to combat the effects of a Headlee Rollback, school districts can seek voter authorization for more than the 18 mill levy and/or a shorter authorization period. Novi Community School District is seeking approval for 19 mills over an 11-year period. If approved, 19 mills allows the additional 1 mill to offset up to 1 mill worth of Headlee Rollbacks over the next decade to keep the millage at 18 mills or as close as possible if the rollbacks exceed 1 mill. (Note: This does not allow a school district to levy more than 18 mills at any time.)

It is a requirement to use the word “increase” when school districts are seeking more millage than currently authorized, like when there has been a Headlee Rollback. The current millage will be zero after it expires. The proposal is for 19 mills, with a maximum of 18 mills to be levied at any one time because of statutory limits.

A Public Recreation Millage allows a school district to offer recreational facilities and amenities to the community. Often this includes facilities such as pools, tennis courts, athletic fields, playgrounds, walking tracks, and indoor activity spaces.

The taxpayers approved the Public Recreation Millage renewal in 2014 and it expires with the winter 2023 tax levy. We are asking voters to renew this millage so that school district property can continue to be used for public recreational activities and to support school district playgrounds that are used by the community.

The recreation millage allows the school district to make its facilities available to a variety of public recreational activities. For example, the millage supports the community use of the pool at Novi High School. The millage pays for the community use of our playgrounds at the elementary schools. It supports our after-school community recreational activities. It also allows the city to use our elementary, middle school, and high school facilities for community recreation activities rent-free. This millage supports the community use of school district fields and courts for such purposes as community soccer, baseball, basketball, tennis, use of the auditorium and band room, and other recreational uses.

The millage renewal is for 10 years from 2024 through 2033.

No. This is a renewal and your home property tax rate would be unaffected. We have already had a recreation millage and this ballot does not increase the rate, but instead just continues the current rate that has been in effect. While we have steadily increased costs and also available facilities for our community, we are not asking to increase the tax rate for the maintenance of these facilities at this time.

The recreation millage generates over $2.5 million each year.

If the millage is renewed, current programs will continue. These funds are critical as we have a lot of community use on our facilities, so we will be able to keep them up and maintain them for our citizens.