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Just curious my School Board just announced the new budget, tax rate & tax levy increases. Whats very strange is that they announced that if the budget is defeated the contingency budget would result in a higher tax levy.
The reason they gave was that they were using approximately $500,000 in surplus funds to reduce the tax burden for the initial budget. If the budget is defeated they would not use the $500,000 in a contingency budget.
Could someone explain if this is a legal requirement that they can't use surplus funds in a contingency budget or is this a form of extortion on the part of the Board to get the budget approved?
Just curious my School Board just announced the new budget, tax rate & tax levy increases. Whats very strange is that they announced that if the budget is defeated the contingency budget would result in a higher tax levy.
The reason they gave was that they were using approximately $500,000 in surplus funds to reduce the tax burden for the initial budget. If the budget is defeated they would not use the $500,000 in a contingency budget.
Could someone explain if this is a legal requirement that they can't use surplus funds in a contingency budget or is this a form of extortion on the part of the Board to get the budget approved?
This came up at our Budget meeting last year, they wanted to use the contigency do do some structural repairs rather than raise taxes. I believe it is up to the BOE whether they add the contingency funds to the budget.
I heard of a district using this ploy, not sure which one, they indicated the budget would be even higher if defeated as they would withhold contingency funds on the second vote, now that's a school dsitrict that's ripe for some new BOE members.
"Voters face another dilemma: A growing number of districts are signaling that they intend to boost taxes higher next year if budgets are defeated at the polls than if budgets are approved. Sayville, for example, said it will raise taxes 7.39 percent next year if its budget is approved, but 9.18 percent if the budget fails. That's because the district has agreed to use $2.5 million in cash reserves to curb taxes if voters say "yes." If they vote "no," the district plans to withhold its reserves."
There is no requirement that boards use any reserve funds to help bring down the tax rate. You would need to know if they are planning on using the reserves for any other possible expense. Under contingency they might not be able to use the reserves as contingency requires specific percentages of cuts under administration, program and capital areas.
Call your business supt to find out the specifics and how it works.
Just curious my School Board just announced the new budget, tax rate & tax levy increases. Whats very strange is that they announced that if the budget is defeated the contingency budget would result in a higher tax levy.
The reason they gave was that they were using approximately $500,000 in surplus funds to reduce the tax burden for the initial budget. If the budget is defeated they would not use the $500,000 in a contingency budget.
Could someone explain if this is a legal requirement that they can't use surplus funds in a contingency budget or is this a form of extortion on the part of the Board to get the budget approved?
It is the typical political meandering that they use when a budget is set to be defeated. They threaten that they won't use the contingency funds (your money that they saved) in order to lower the taxable level if you don't vote the new budget. This is how the powers that be have made sure they always get what they want.
"Voters face another dilemma: A growing number of districts are signaling that they intend to boost taxes higher next year if budgets are defeated at the polls than if budgets are approved. Sayville, for example, said it will raise taxes 7.39 percent next year if its budget is approved, but 9.18 percent if the budget fails. That's because the district has agreed to use $2.5 million in cash reserves to curb taxes if voters say "yes." If they vote "no," the district plans to withhold its reserves."
It's a scam - Vote No. Then throw da bums outta office. One time fixes do nothing to ensure viability of the budget. I guess the BOE members received an A in Fudging Math/Phony Number Exercises 101.
"Voters face another dilemma: A growing number of districts are signaling that they intend to boost taxes higher next year if budgets are defeated at the polls than if budgets are approved. Sayville, for example, said it will raise taxes 7.39 percent next year if its budget is approved, but 9.18 percent if the budget fails. That's because the district has agreed to use $2.5 million in cash reserves to curb taxes if voters say "yes." If they vote "no," the district plans to withhold its reserves."
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