The Northwest Allen County Board of Trustees passed the 2022 budget, along with the 2022-26 Bus Replacement Plan and the 2022-24 Capital Project Plan, during with Sept. 27 meeting.

Three public hearings were held prior to the Sept. 13 meeting where the board reviewed the plans, though action was not planned to be taken that night.

NACS Business Manager William “Bill” Mallers presented the documents to the board during the Sept. 27 meeting and were all unanimously passed by the board.

2022 BUDGET

The 2022 budget contains four funds within it.

The Education Fund, the Operations Fund, the Debt Service Fund and the Referendum Debt Fund were all approved by the school board on Sept. 27.

The Education Fund’s budget appropriation is in the amount of $52,049,289. The state basic grant revenue through calendar year 2022 estimate is $55,869,917 and includes tuition support, honors diploma, special education, career and technical and complexity grants. Instructional portion of the state basic grant supports the Education Fund.

The Operations Fund’s budget appropriation is $18,202,321 and is a combination of the General Fund operations, Capital Projects Fund, Transportation Fund and Bus Replacement Fund.

The Operation Fund is funded by property tax levy, operations portion of the state basic grant, excise and Commercial Vehicle Excise tax.

The maximum levy increase is 8.11 percent and the estimated 2022 maximum levy is $11,542,376. The levy in 2021 was $10,675,613. The Property Tax Cap Loss is estimated at $1,155,370 for 2022 and in 2021 it was $1,044,076.

The Debt Service Fund’s budget advertised appropriation is $16,376,194 and the levy advertised is $15,081,082.

The Series 2020 debt for the Carroll High School site improvement project is down from $1,405,000 to $772,000. The General Obligation Bond is listed at $5,125,228.

Total debt as of June 30, including referendum debt, is $104,585,000.

The Referendum Debt Fund’s budget appropriation is $2,650,000 and the levy is advertised at $2,650,000. The maximum rate in the referendum is $0.1275.

The monetary changes for the four funds in the 2022 budget are:

• Education Fund: From $48,830,709 in 2021 to $52,049,289 in 2022
• Operations Fund: From $16,971,217 in 2021 to $18,202,321 in 2022
• Debt Service Fund: From $15,332,370 in 2021 to $16,376,194 in 2022
• Referendum Debt Fund: From $2,649,000 in 2021 to $2,650,000 in 2022
• Total: From $83,783,296 in 2021 to $89,277,804 in 2022

The Debt Service Fund will decrease so there is no tax rate increase for 2022.

The advertised monetary levy changes for three funds in 2022 are:

• Operations Fund: From $10,675,613 in 2021 to $11,542,376 in 2022
• Debt Service Fund: From $14,353,182 in 2021 to $15,081,082 in 2022
• Referendum Debt Fund: From $2,490,661 in 2021 to $2,428,338 in 2022
• Total: From $27,519,456 in 2021 to $29,051,796 in 2022

Certified Assessed Valuation for 2022 is estimated at $2,915,406,912 and in 2021 it was at $2,664,905,770. There is no estimated increase in the total tax rate for 2022. The total tax rate in 2021 was 1.0312.

2022-26 BUS REPLACEMENT PLAN

The Bus Replacement Plan is a five year plan because buses are replaced every 12 years. The budget for seven buses is numbered at $747,963 and is part of the Operations Fund. The levy maximum increase is 8.11 percent.

Four buses will be replaced in 2022 including two 54-passenger special education buses and two 15-passenger activity buses. One of the two special education buses is a 2012 bus. Maller said NACS has been having issues with the bus so it would be cheaper to replace it than keep trying to fix it.

The two special education buses are totaled at $272,366 and the two activity buses are totaled at $137,524.

Three additional buses are scheduled to be replaced, which include two 78-passenger conventional buses and one 15-passenger yellow bus. The conventional buses are totaled at $268,073 and the yellow bus is totaled at $70,000.

2022-24 CAPTIAL PROJECT PLAN

The capital expenditures for the Capital Project Plan comes from the Operations Fund and is a three year plan.

Property tax is the main source of revenue for the plan. The maximum levy increase is 8.11 percent. The total budget for the Capital Project Plan is $1,449,100.

The breakdown of the 2022 Capital Project Plan categories are:

• Professional services: $15,000
• Building acquisitions/construction/improvements: $2,051,400
• Equipment: $586,400
• Emergency allocation: $110,000
• Utility services: $898,019
• Maintenance of equipment: $215,000
• School sports facility: $113,500
• Property/casualty insurance: $100,000
• Administration technology: $356,091
• Total for Operations Fund: $4,445,410
• Instructional technology: $2,262,490
• Total: $6,707,900

The breakdown of the building totals are:

• Arcola: $260,268
• Aspen Meadow: $64,300
• Cedar Canyon: $303,889
• Eel River: $196,876
• Hickory Center: $204,629
• Huntertown: $350,492
• Oak View: $187,251
• Perry Hill: $331,343
• Carroll Middle: $340,660
• Maple Creek Middle: $315,156
• Carroll High: $1,040,398
• Natatorium: $146,357
• Transportation Center: $102,600
• Administration Office: $2,753,681
• Emergency Allocation: $110,000
• Total: $6,707,900

Maller said the reason Aspen Meadow Elementary School’s building total is the lowest is because it is a new building.