The Rend Lake College Board of Trustees met Tuesday and approved the budget for the Fiscal Year 2017. Also, the board accepted the 2016 tax levy, payable in 2017, which will be filed in accord with Truth in Taxation compliance laws. The corporate and special purpose levy was set at $3,379,083, an increase of 4.99 percent over the previous year’s levy of $3,218,520. The debt service levy of $1,807,491 represents a 0.06 percent increase over last year’s levy of $1,806,469. In aggregate, the combined levy of $5,186,574 is an increase of 3.22 percent over last year’s aggregate of $5,024,989. The board also approved a resolution to issue $5 million in taxable general obligation community college bonds for the purpose of paying claims against the district. The issue stems from recent board action to sell and immediately repurchase the RLC MarketPlace facility in Mt. Vernon. It will give the college access to $5 million in available cash reserves. The move was prompted by the state of Illinois’ continuing budget issues.