Magnolia putting replacement and renewal issues on ballot

MAGNOLIA – Village officials are asking voters to approve two levy issues on Nov. 8, one of which would amount to a higher taxation rate of an existing property tax that supports the local cemetery.

The cemetery issue is a replacement version of an existing 0.5 of a mill property tax which, if approved, would yield $9,452 annually over its five-year life cycle.

A replacement version of an existing property tax would generate funding more for village officials than a renewal. That is because a replacement would set the taxation rate at the latest property valuation level while a renewal draws on the outdated tax rate, which is lower.

"In anticipation of future projections, what we have won't be enough to maintain the property," Mayor Travis Boyd said. "There are still burial plots available. We made some repairs to the access road. We are looking to maintain where we are and improve in the future."

If approved, the replacement version of the property tax would cost the owner of a home with a $100,000 valuation about $17 a year. Currently that same home owner pays about $8 a year for the cemetery levy. Magnolia officials currently take in $5,365 a year from the 0.5 of a mill cemetery levy.

Located on the north side of the village, the cemetery takes in 6.5 acres.

"There are more and more people going in," said village Fiscal Officer Penny Rainsberger. "It was quite busy this winter and spring."

The other issue before voters will be a request to renew a 3-mill property tax that brings in $32,192 a year for general village operating expenses. It also has a five-year life cycle. This levy cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $48 a year.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Magnolia residents to see two levies on the Nov. 8, 2022, ballot