Community Notice

Dear Members of the BD Community:
As we shared last week, our district began receiving calls regarding tax information community
members were seeing on their winter tax bills. On this bill, there is a tax for a Bond that was
sought and approved by the voters in the community in 2006. This Bond was for the construction
of the cafeteria and elementary addition of the Britton School Building. Since 2006 taxpayers
have been fulfilling their obligation to this bond on a yearly basis. The Bond expires in 2026.
The school can only obtain taxes for this existing bond in the Winter tax-not the summer.
Last year there was a clerical error and the levy for the Bond did not get taken from the winter
tax. During the previous week, our district investigated the tax issue and was able to retrieve documents
showcasing our transparency in sharing this information with the community.
On our website we have placed several documents relative to discussions had in open meetings
over the course of the last year. The documents being shown here include the following:
• The completed L-4029 forms on file in the business office.
• The portion of the Board of Education Packet dated June 26, 2023 ( cover) that includes
the agenda and the approval of the budget with the missing bond allocations. Also, the
2016 Refinancing Budget of2022-2023 page that itemizes the exact amount of missing
tax dollars from the budget.
• The agenda from the July 17, 2023, Board of Education Workshop where discussion pertaining
to the bond taxes was had, at length.
• The August 21, 2023, Board Agenda that includes item "g. Approve loan from Michigan
School Loan Revolving Fund". The application is also included.
• Meeting minutes from August 21, 2023, showing the approved action.
Britton Deerfield Schools realizes this information is important to the community. On four occasions
the tax information was spoken about, at length, in a public meeting. We would like to
stress the fact that Britton Deerfield Schools has no authority over taxation. We do not possess
the expertise or ability to communicate with communities about taxes or tax law. Our goal remains
educating the students within our community.
Again, we are sorry this burden has caused people to be frustrated. We will stTive to encourage
government agencies to communicate with taxpayers in a better manner moving forward. We
deeply apologize this situation occurred--and we thank you for your continued support of Britton
Deerfield schools.