Frazier board discusses tax legislation
PERRYOPOLIS – If Frazier School District officials agree to pass a 0.1 percent earned income tax levy by May 30, 2005, as part of a state tax relief program, residents could see a $94 tax reduction but not for two years at least. Tom Shetterly, business manager, provided school officials Thursday with a brief overview of Act 72 that enables the state’s 501 school districts to participate in the program in order to receive a share of $500 million in gaming revenue the state expects to be generated under the homestead/farmstead exclusion.
For Frazier, Shetterly said the 0.1 percent increase would mean roughly $98,000.
However, Shetterly said he didn’t foresee the property tax relief going into effect until the 2006-2007 school year.
Under the program, Shetterly added that all residents would be eligible for the same tax reduction whether they have a $100,000 home or $300,000 home.
On the other hand, if a property is assessed at $10,000 or less, Shetterly said the remaining funds from the program would be recalculated in order to divide the funding evenly.
With 5,328 parcels in the district, Shetterly said only 3,606 of those residential properties would be eligible for the tax relief.
“It’s going to mean a lot of work because we have a lot of properties under $18,000,” said Shetterly.
While the amount of the exclusion would fluctuate from year to year, Shetterly said participating school districts could not raise their property taxes by more than 2.5 percent unless they pose the question of the ballot of that year’s election.
Once adopted, Shetterly said Act 72 would require districts to develop a preliminary budget, beginning with the 2005-2006 school year, for the following fiscal year under a new schedule that mandates advanced planning and earlier financial decisions posing a problem as far as anticipated state funding.
Shetterly added one of the most important factors of Act 72 is a budget timeline.
The state requires school districts to pass a tentative budget before May 30, but that date would change to January. “That means we won’t know what our state allocation will be, we won’t know what our health insurance benefits will be…it’s going to be very difficult to estimate a balanced budget six months ahead of time,” Shetterly added.
In a separate matter, the board conducted the following business:
– Hired Deborah Tomalski as student electronic information management aide at a salary of $10 per hour.
– Hired Michael Steever as ninth-grade boys’ basketball coach following the resignation of Brian Salisbury and Ray Smitley as seventh- and eighth-grade assistant boys’ basketball coach.
– Agreed to renew a three-year lease with C. Harper Chevrolet of Belle Vernon for a driver’s education training vehicle at a cost of $262.28 per month with an $88.50 down payment.
– Agreed to extend health benefits for one year for Fred Koller, building and grounds supervisor, pending his letter of resignation. Koller has been on medical leave for about one year.