AUBURN -- Auburn Enlarged City School District taxpayers can expect to see an increase in their tax bills if the new budget is approved by voters on May 20.
On Tuesday, the board of education unanimously adopted the proposed school budget expected to be put on the ballot.
The overall budget proposed totals $66,741,144, a $3,363,380 increase over last year's numbers of $63,377,764, or 5.31 percent.
This equates to an estimated tax levy of $26,288,256, an increase of $1,078,166 from the previous year, or a 4.28 percent increase.
Local impact is based upon home assessments and eligibility for STAR, New York State's School Tax Relief Program, a property tax rebate program and a partial property tax exemption from school taxes. The exemption is available for all owner-occupied, primary residents while the Enhanced STAR is available for senior citizens.
Based upon the 2007-08 assessments, the local impact for a $100,000 home with no STAR rebate is $1,863, an increase of $76 from last year. For a house with Basic STAR, $1,304, an increase of $53. For an Enhanced STAR, $805, an increase of $33.
Beyond contractual wage increases and the cost of fringe benefits such as health insurance, the increase will fund the 19 fulltime equivalent staff members added through the Contract for Excellence, the state's education reform which provides extra funding to districts in need of improvement, Business Administrator Marianne O'Connor said during a budget presentation.
The increase will also be added to debt service, cash required over a given period for the repayment of interest and principal on a debt, for the district's energy performance contracts and the proposed capital project. Taxpayers are likely to vote on the capital project on June 26.
Equipment upgrades are also built into the budget. Specifically, the district will be looking to upgrade cameras on school buses.
The increase will also cover the skyrocketing cost of fuel.
According to current estimates, the district is likely to receive about $37,399,863 in state, of which $660,000 is reserved for new C4E programs.
For more, read Wednesday's Citizen
The overall budget proposed totals $66,741,144, a $3,363,380 increase over last year's numbers of $63,377,764, or 5.31 percent.
This equates to an estimated tax levy of $26,288,256, an increase of $1,078,166 from the previous year, or a 4.28 percent increase.
Local impact is based upon home assessments and eligibility for STAR, New York State's School Tax Relief Program, a property tax rebate program and a partial property tax exemption from school taxes. The exemption is available for all owner-occupied, primary residents while the Enhanced STAR is available for senior citizens.
Based upon the 2007-08 assessments, the local impact for a $100,000 home with no STAR rebate is $1,863, an increase of $76 from last year. For a house with Basic STAR, $1,304, an increase of $53. For an Enhanced STAR, $805, an increase of $33.
Beyond contractual wage increases and the cost of fringe benefits such as health insurance, the increase will fund the 19 fulltime equivalent staff members added through the Contract for Excellence, the state's education reform which provides extra funding to districts in need of improvement, Business Administrator Marianne O'Connor said during a budget presentation.
The increase will also be added to debt service, cash required over a given period for the repayment of interest and principal on a debt, for the district's energy performance contracts and the proposed capital project. Taxpayers are likely to vote on the capital project on June 26.
Equipment upgrades are also built into the budget. Specifically, the district will be looking to upgrade cameras on school buses.
The increase will also cover the skyrocketing cost of fuel.
According to current estimates, the district is likely to receive about $37,399,863 in state, of which $660,000 is reserved for new C4E programs.
For more, read Wednesday's Citizen
The Citizens' Say
There are 2 comment(s)
justventing wrote on Apr 9, 2008 9:14 AM:
tome8689 wrote on Apr 9, 2008 8:42 AM: