WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. March 3, 2005: The City Assessor’s Office supplied a final assessments figure to the School District Monday afternoon and this was revealed to the School District Annual Budget Committee meeting at Education House last night.
The total city assessments have decreased $585,269, and the school district has trimmed its budget in response, projecting a school tax increase to property owners of 11.31%. This means that if you have a home assessed at $18,475 (approximately a $600,000 home), you will pay an additional $847.35 in School Taxes in 2005-2006.
The City Assessor, Edye McCarthy, reported to School District Assistant Superintendent of Business, Terrance Schruers that total city assessments and the assessments from PILOTS will be $585,269 less than the assessed values from last year. Last year the total city assessments were $307,076,646. This year the total assessed value is $306,491,377.
McCarthy reported to the district that there were PILOT increases to the following properties (under PILOT agreements) in the following amounts: Clayton Park ($93,750), 333 Westchester Avenue ($75,000), Bank Street Commons ($1,284,600), Fortunoff’s ($150,000), J.P.I. ($105,000), and 360 Hamilton (Reckson), $302,600. The total PILOT increases from these properties, according to the Assessor’s Office is $2,010,950. But readers should be aware that these are assessments from which taxes are figured.
The Assessor’s office did not supply the school district figures on how much the new property on the rolls, City Center, the North residential tower, the Trump Tower, and 221 Main Street can be expected to pay in PILOTs in the next few years.
School Board projects $5 Million to $10 Million in certiorari payments in 05-06
The School District revealed more gory detail on the certiorari (tax refunds) situation shaping up for the 2005-2006 Budget year. They gave more detail pointing out that they have paid out $4.4 million in certioraris from this bond reserve, depleting it to zero by July 1. The Annual Budget committee learned the School District plans to float bonds after July 1 to cover expected certiorari givebacks in 05-06 as high as $10 Million.
They expect to bond for an additional $10 Million to pay these certiorari one-time only payments, and begin paying back those bonds in the 2006-07 budget year. The exact amount of the bond issue they expect to float was not announced. The school district can bond up to 5.5% of its budget (about $8 Million) without asking voter approval.
Budget Trim. Eastview Enrollment Expansion Eliminated
The district meanwhile has trimmed back the budget by $1.6 million, lowering the total preliminary school budget from $157,797,830 to $156,178,302. This is a year-to-year budget increase of 8.6%.
Combined with the slightly reduced assessments, the tax levy amounts to a 10.4% increase, or an 11.31% increase in the tax rate.
The major loss to parents in the budget trimming was the elimination of $352,000 to expand Eastview by 4 teachers this year to increase enrollment overflow at Eastview by 20 students. (For the first time this year, the district had to turn away students who opted to attend Eastview School instead of Highlands.) Connors said the decision to expand Eastview enrollment would wait until enrollment increased accordingly.
$303,000 was eliminated by lesser amounts paid in Workers’ Compensation Premiums, and $291,528 gained by a lesser increase (9%) in Health Insurance Premiums than expected.
