Property tax bills: Keep your eyes on the ball, and forget the mound of peanut shell games.

Chris Morris is on medical leave, there hasn't yet been a replacement for Elizabeth Beilman -- and hell, Tom May can be 15 or 20 places at once, but not 30, so it looks like it's Erin Walden on the education beat as the superintendent of schools explains it's not an increase at all -- and she's to be commended for keeping things straight as the numbers (and fur) fly.

Reached at his down-low command bunker, bond issue advocate Jeff Gahan said he continues to support the Taco Walk, and any tree than disagrees will find itself rendered into campaign finance broadsheets, sleeping with the little fishies.

NAFC superintendent talks tax increases, by Erin Walden (Tom May Content Coagulator)

NEW ALBANY — The truthfulness behind the 2016 referendum marketing statement “not a penny more” was called into question after taxpayers in Floyd County noticed increases on their property tax bill.

During the Monday night school board meeting, New Albany Floyd County Consolidated School Corp. superintendent Brad Snyder explained the increase was one of perception.

According to a presentation by Snyder, the debt rate in 2016 — the year the district pursued the referendum — was .5408 cents. In 2017, the debt rate dipped to .3833 cents and for 2018, the first year of the bond repayment for the referendum, it increased to .4941 cents.

“The campaign was held in 2016 with a very specific pledge to when the debts were repaid. There was a dip [in 2017]. That was the unseen, undiscussed,” Snyder said.

However, residents are only shown on tax bills what they paid last year, Snyder said, so the tax rate and total due for 2016 was not shown to give context to the 2018 figures.

Monday night's agenda was rearranged and the presentation came before public comments rather than after, and each public comment addressed the situation.

Dale Mann, who repeated his request for an independent audit of the district, said, “All these flyers – they were all lies. No increase, not a penny more. That’s all a lie. If you all support it, I’m gonna ask for your resignation ... "