Numbers don't Add Up
It is our job to report the facts.
You are never quite sure you have all the facts; sometimes, you know for sure not all the facts are in when deadline hits. The pro
posed Plymouth schools expansion project is a case in point.
No matter what happens with the project, the one aspect of this story that concerns
me the most is the way numbers are tossed around regarding the impact on the taxpayers.
The figures behind the project are �not an opinion thing,� The numbers are there in black and white. Some folks choose to ignore this. They do no one a service by putting out in accurate numbers.
The concerning thing is, once numbers are repeated again and again, the story then has a life of its own. It become believable through repetition..
It is wrong to allow this information to be presented as fact.
For months, a claim has been made property taxes will increase by $200 to $400 if the school expansion project is approved.
That is not true. After talking to people at the State Tax Board and Marshall County Auditor Jan Quivey it is obvious the people quoting inaccurate numbers do not know how to figure property taxes.
The amount of property tax obviously varies from person to person.
Conveniently omitted is the misinformation campaign is that the Indiana General Assembly has taken another chunk of education operational costs off the backs of property owners.
Experts from Indiana University and Purdue believe � even should the school expansion get approval � most property taxpayers will pay less in school taxes this year than they did in 2002.
Quivey also believes that, with all the tax credits in place, many people will pay less in school taxes. After all, Plymouth has one of, if not the lowest school tax rates in the county.
By the end of 2003, property tax payers will be footing about 24 percent of the bill to operate schools. It has dropped from 100 percent years ago to 24 percent with the latest action from state lawmakers.
There is a $72 or $74 million total cost sometimes cited as the final numbers for the expansion project. That is the highest possible price tag of the project. The actual cost will be much lower.
The cost of past projects have been eaten up by increased assessed valuation. The cost of the proposed expansion could disappear thanks to increased assessed valuation. The reassessment will increase the assessed valuation of the school district.
It is time to work with real numbers.
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