LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

Without fear or favor
Since 2004

Tag: Linda Holtkamp

  • What’s The Cost of proposed Loveland School levy?

    What’s The Cost of proposed Loveland School levy?

    by Linda Holtkamp

    By now, the people of Loveland Schools should know about the proposed Loveland School levy, and how the cost of this proposed increase will affect your property taxes.

    Currently, 1 Mill is equal to almost exactly $1,000,000, and the school is asking us for 4.9 Mills, additional. The formula to calculate what this proposed levy will cost you is simple. Superintendent Mike Broadwater has a video on the school website with an explanation and many thanks to him for providing that.

    Find your property on your County Auditor’s website. Look for “property search” on both Hamilton and Clermont County sites. There you will find both the Appraised Market Value (full appraised value of your home) and also the Assessed Value (the amount that is taxable). Then grab your calculator and use this:

    Appraised Market Value (full home or house value) x .35 x .0049 = $$$$

    OR, use your Assessed Value (taxable amount) x .0049 = $$$$

    With either math formula, the amount you will owe will be the same $$$$.

    The .0049 represents the amount of this levy ask… 4.9 Mills, generating a total of close to $4.9 Million Dollars, each year, continuously (permanently), as an operating levy for the schools. 

    A Google search for current home values in Loveland lists that properties in Loveland range from $40,000 to $2.9 Million. The Grail was going to sell land to the school district for $7.7 Million, so yes, there are some high-value properties that exist here.

    The LCSD treasurer used the Zillow website in his presentation at a recent board meeting. Zillow lists the average house value in Loveland, at the end of July, to be $377,047.

    Using the average house value that the treasurer listed, $377,047, the calculated increase for an average value home in Loveland, for this school levy, will be about $650 per year. This is a permanent tax, which will be piled on top of the existing 18 continuous (permanent) levies, two permanent inside millage taxes, as well as a 26-year bond levy (which will be paid off in a few years).

    69% of homes in Loveland are lived in by the homeowner, while 31% are rental properties, according to RentCafe, a marketing website that tracks these trends.

    Homeowners will have to pay the extra costs of this levy, and other recent property taxes that have passed but not yet been billed, starting in January 2023. Landlords can be expected to raise rents to cover the 13% increase in Loveland School taxes, and those other taxes as well. Rentals in Loveland are pricy, average $1,361 for 959 sq. ft., only surpassed locally by rentals in Blue Ash.

    Information from the recent Census lists that 6.1% of people in Loveland are under 5 years old, and that 26.3% are under 18 years of age. This would indicate that, out of Loveland’s population, about 20% are school-age children. A good number of those school-age children do not attend Loveland Schools, but opt for private, parochial, charter, or homeschooling.

    Residents over 65 years old, seniors, again according to Census numbers, comprise 15.9% of the population of Loveland. It seems there are close to as many senior citizens in Loveland as there are school-age children.

    According to the school website, the District serves a population of 50,000, when including those who live both inside and outside of Loveland City proper. Student enrollment in LCSD is approximately 4,000. That works out to 8% of Loveland-at-large residents are students of LCSD.  That means 92% of Lovelanders sacrifice monetarily via property taxes, to educate 8% of the Loveland district population.

    Though many residents strongly insist this 13% increase in school property taxes is for the good of the 4,000 current students of Loveland, is there ever any emphasis on how a 13% increase might harm the considerable number of senior citizens in Loveland? The Homestead tax reduction, (aimed at helping seniors) has effectively disappeared, so relief on property taxes is essentially nonexistent. 

    For those who feel that not passing this levy will hurt property values… that depends on your outlook. Of all the people who live in Loveland now, according to the Census, 69% were born in Ohio. As a life-long resident myself, I know that many, many of these 69% are “long-term” residents of Loveland. Think of those you know who have made their home here for at least 15 years, as well as those who have lived here for decades. Do we like seeing our property values rise? Of course, we do. But do these permanent levies, which burden us forever, give us a good return on our investment? Or are higher property values more likely to aid those who live here only for a short time? We’ve spent tens upon tens of thousands of dollars to support the schools. Our schools… LCSD. Proudly. Will property value increases repay any of that? Will some residents eventually be forced out of their homes because continual taxation is part of the homeownership costs that are skyrocketing? Admittedly you can’t monetize the value of education. You can’t accurately assess the harm of passing on the cost of these school levies to those who truly can’t afford them, either.

    Remember that 2/3 of our community does not have children attending Loveland Schools. But a tax like this, if passed, places a burden on every single resident.. homeowner or renter, school parent or senior. The importance of voting cannot be overstated, and absentee or early in-person voting makes it easy for us all.

    Many of us complain about how much is sent to schools already, but these taxes are firmly entrenched, school enrollment numbers continue to drop, and LCSD has been making everything work pretty well with the over $50 Million Dollars per year that they already get (some $35 Million of that from local property taxes… us). They use these funds to educate 4,000 students out of a district population of 50,000… 8% of our community at large.

    These funds cannot be taken back, so use them with our blessing.

    Don’t ask for more.

  • Linda Holtkamp addressed the Board regarding the failed levy

    Linda Holtkamp addressed the Board regarding the failed levy

    Loveland, Ohio – On November 19, before a packed, stand on the furniture in the back for a better view, house, Linda Holtkamp took to the open forum microphone to express views on the recently failed levy that was on the November 5 ballot. The Board asked voters to approve issuing bonds for $118,515,000 and a combined operating and bond levy of 16.78-mill. The levy was rejected by voters 78-22 per-cent.

    The Board is currently considering placing another levy on the ballot in March of 2020. They say they will need to submit ballot language for a potential operating levy on the March ballot no later than December 18, requiring a first resolution to be passed at the December 10 board meeting.

    Holtkamp’s comments were during the regular business meeting of the Board where residents are allowed to sit in front of a microphone for 3 minutes to talk to the Board, the Administration, and the other audience members about anything relating to the operation of the District.

    There was another meeting that night following the business meeting. It was facilitated by Jeffrey Stec, the Director of Citizens for Civic Renewal. The District hired Citizens for Civic Renewal to conduct this public meeting.

    The District has published a PowerPoint presentation, notes by the facilitator, and comments received in writing from community members at the 2nd meeting. An unedited Board video from the input session can be found here.

    Te next meeting of the Board will be on November 26 at 6 PM in the LMS/LIS Media Center. (View the Agenda) Among agenda items is a “Recommended Action” by the Superintendent to cancel the contract with Allerton Hill Consulting. Another item is a resolution put forth by the Treasurer to participate in Ohio Open Checkbook. The Board is also expected to appoint an Ad Hoc, Short Term Advisory Committee. You can read the proposal below.*
    Other Meetings:
    • Tuesday, December 3, 6 PM (special meeting)
    • Tuesday, December 10, 6 PM (work session)
    • Tuesday, December 17, 6 PM (special meeting)

     

    *Ad Hoc, Short Term Advisory Committee

    This ad hoc advisory committee has been established for the purpose of helping the Board of Education to determine whether a March ballot issue is feasible or not.  The committee will work with the Board while the meeting is in session which will allow for interaction between committee members and board members.

    On 11/26, the committee will be invited to join the meeting after the board has concluded regular business outlined on the agenda.   On 12/3, the full board meeting time will likely be given to the work of the committee.

    Should the work result in a determination that a March ballot language is feasible, we must meet election timelines.  The determination of millage for a ballot issue in March 2020 must be approved in a formal resolution of necessity by the Board of Education on 12/10/19. Seven days later (12/17) the Board must approve a resolution to proceed.  The resolutions must be given to the Board of Elections by 12/18/19.

    Should the work result in a determination that March is not feasible, the Board and community will focus on a November 2020 operating levy.

    Following the 12/3/19 meeting, this committee will be dissolved having served its intended objective.  However, should the format be successful we will develop a system to continue the work and identify a way to give more people an opportunity to participate if they wish.

    ————————————–


  • Linda Holtkamp on school levy: “Loveland Gives!”

    Linda Holtkamp on school levy: “Loveland Gives!”

    by Linda Holtkamp

    We are a generous city, especially where our schools are involved. We have passed levy after levy after levy, by comfortable margins, whenever we were told there was need.

    Now, we are being told there is great need, urgent need, to bring our facilities up to date.

    Linda Holtkamp lives in the Plantation Pointe subdivision in Symmes Township

    And it’s going to require enormous sacrifice. The schools all need to be extensively revamped or demolished, and it will cost each property owner thousands of dollars, additional, every year, for a very long time. 37 years at the minimum. And, well, most of the money will have to be paid forever.  We are going to build big, and we are going to build new. Renovating, for the most part, is not an option.

    Repairing or using what we already have at the primary school level is off the table. We need new land, 110 acres of it, and it will cost $7.7 million dollars. It’s raw land, so, it will need massive amounts of expensive preparation before it can even be built upon. We need three new, state of the art buildings on that land, with brand new everything inside. Just figure about $92,000,000 for the whole project, and we have Preschool through 5th grade settled.

    Middle school is in pretty good shape, having been renovated when the high school was built. But, we could build outside bathrooms and clean up the sports area in the back, add an 8 lane track so the track team does not have to go all the way to the high school to practice, and new bleachers. The school needs a skylight because it’s too dark inside, and upgrades to the entrance. Let’s budget about $25,000,000.

    The high school is our newest complex, but still needs some high ticket items.

    For sports, the need is for turf on baseball, softball, and a multi-purpose field. Grass is not good enough, as occasionally it gets muddy. We absolutely need new concession stands and a new gateway entrance because, well, we just do. We should budget about $10 million for sports.

    The school itself has big, costly needs. The auditorium, while it is absolutely fine, almost brand new, is too small for Show Choir and band concerts. We need new, so let’s plan for the future in a big way. Let’s go with a two-story, 1,000 seat auditorium. Around that, we will build multiple band rooms, art rooms, and a photo studio. $16,000,000. Sixteen Million Dollars. Just for Fine Arts. That should do it. Good acoustics are pricy. 

    Remember that existing, beautiful, approximately 578 seat auditorium with years of usable life left? We will completely demolish that, level out the floor, and use that space for science labs. The Robotics Team members will get space there, along with lots of ultra-expensive equipment to further their projects. 

    The total budget for the high school reno and new building will amount to $53,000,000.

    As you see, almost half of the money is going to the two newest school complexes.

    Grand total, with more thrown in for overruns: $165,000,000. Plus $7.7 million for the land

    You will get great satisfaction sending the schools 43% more school property taxes each year. On top of what you already pay. And, this increase is so large, the schools will never need to ask for money again, right?

    Nope. Look for another levy in 3 years, for more operating expenses.

    That is a promise, as well.

    Join your neighbors and fellow taxpayers who find this plan, and the costs involved, totally unworkable.

    Vote AGAINST the levy on Tuesday, November 5.

    It’s OK to say NO.