WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. March 26, 2007, UPDATED 9:20 AM: The White Plains Board of Education rejected Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors “Superintendent’s Budget” Monday evening, voting unanimously to table adoption of the budget until April 9, pending another review by the Finance Committee this week.
The movement to take one last look at cuts was lead by Donna McLaughlin, who said, “I question this facilities budget.” She said to WPCNR the line comprised about $11 Million of expenses including utilities, ($2.9M), maintenance($1.75M), Supplies($2.M), Repairs($645G), Equipment ($495G).
Assistant Superintendent for Business Fred Seiler put on the world’s fastest powerpoint slide show, holding slides up about 10 seconds each in explaining $752,727 in new budget cuts to the board, as first reported by WPCNR this afternoon, lowering the 2007-2008 Proposed Budget to $173,088,027. It was previously, $173,840, 754.
Based on Mayor Joseph Delfino’s pledge to hold the line on property taxes at below the school budget increase of 7.76 %, It is clear that the tax burden of the combined increases of school, city and county taxes combine for a 7% going on 10% increase in the White Plains median tax payer’s bill in a year when the inflation rate was only 3.1%.
Seiler explained that the district had cut $752,727 out of the previous $173,840,754 budget by eliminating $28,300 for all new instruments for the WPHS music department, while retaining money for new WPHS band uniforms, and eliminating 4 teacher positions (most pertaining to Special Education, according to Seiler) for a savings of $689,527 when salaries, non-instructional staff salaries, health insurance, social security payments and retirement from the reduced positions was totaled).
This, he said cut the budget-to-budget increase to 4.37%, the lowest White Plains budget increase in 9 years. The lowest budgets previous to this 4.37% increase were 4.95% in 1999-2000 when the budget was $103.4 Million, and 1998-99, 3.43% when the budget was $98.5M. For the record the budget has gone from 95.2 Million (1997-1998) to $173.1 Million in 10 years.
Tax Increase Eases
The sobering frugality rehab of the 4.37% increase has lowered the tax increase required in the new budget to 7.76%, down from the 8.35% increase of one week ago.
Seiler noted the average house assessed at $15,000 of assessed value would pay $516.75 in increased taxes in 2007-2008. Mr. Seiler said this would be reduced with a STAR exemption plus Governor Spitzer’s graduated STAR refund from the income tax now under consideration from Albany.
Big Picture: 7% Increase in Schools, City and County Tax in 3.1% Inflation Environment.
Taking a look at the big tax picture in a 3.1% inflation year in New York State, the median home taxpayer is going to get hit for about an $11,500 tax bill in 2007. For the median priced home in White Plains ($700,000) with the STAR reduction this computes to $502 more in taxes.
If you were an owner of that $700,000 median home, you paid $6,472.39 in school tax in 2006 and will pay $502 more (7.76% More) or $26 shy ($6.974) of $7,000 in school tax in 2007-2008. Add to this a county tax of about $1,700, a city tax of about $2700 (possibly a 7% Plus tax increase at least coming up–according to Mayor Joseph Delfino in a public statement reported today), and Mr. and Mrs. White Plains Median Homeowner is going to pay about $11,500 in taxes to the schools, the city, and the county this year, that is UP 10% in one year.
To recap, school taxes increase $502. Your city tax goes up $203, your county tax up about $50 — for about a $750 tax increase in total on your $700,000 home. The total tax bite: $6,974 to the schools, $2,623 (approximate) to the city and $1,700 to the county. Total estimated taxes:$11,300 up $736 — amounts to a 7% increase in property taxes in a 3.1% inflation environment.
Vote down the budget and your taxes go back up to 8.35%
Mr. Seiler explained how the contingency budget, should the new cut budget be defeated would affect taxes. They actually would go up back to 8.35% moving your tax up to $540 from the $502 increase, since a contingency budget would enable the district to spend $173.838,452 Million the amount of the contingency budget.
The Contingency Budget, Seiler demonstrated, is arrived at by taking out the debt service ($5,887,168) from the current budget ($165,841,434) giving you a base year adopted budget of $159,954,266. Next, Seiler said you multiply that by the 2006-2007 CPI of 3.84%.
The state computes the inflation rate for January 2006 to January 2007 as 3.2% multiplied by 120% for an inflation rate of 3.84% which gives you a new budget of $166,096,510, plus you add the debt service of $7,668,879 and $73,063 for projected enrollment to produce a contingency budget for 2007-2008 of $173,838,452 — actually $2,302 less than last week’s proposed budget.
For the record the Bureau of Labor Statistics computes the rate of inflation in the New York New Jersey area from February 2006 to February 2007 as 3.1% compared to 2.02% for the entire country.
The Superintendent said it was important that residents know that voting down the budget would cost them more in taxes .
Seiler said an option might be to go out with any defeated budget a second time.
Lowest year to year increase of 21 districts. Above Average Tax Increase.
Mr. Seiler pointed that the new White Plains year to year budget increase of 4.37% was the lowest of 21 districts in the Southern Westchester School Boards Association, where the district Y-T-Y increases are averaging 7.08%
The average tax increase of these 21 districts is 7.25%, making White Plains above average at 7.76%
Hold on Mr. Superintendent
The Superintendent of Schools, Mr. Connors, said the new $173.1 Million budget “maintains the quality of our programs, maintains class sizes where they have been,” and is one he felt comfortable “going out to the public with.”
Mr. Seiler came on and explained the budget cuts with his greased lightning slide show, (your reporter’s digital camera could not reset fast enough) and Mr. Bassano asked him to explain the Contingency Budget. Mr. Connors suggested that his talking to Albany today indicated there was support in the legislature for Mr. Spitzer’s budget cuts.
All seemed going well. But then, Donna McLaughlin spoke up.
Donna McLaughlin was troubled. She asked if the Board had to approve the budget this evening or whether it could be delayed. Seiler said the Board had to have the budget in to be voted on by April 16 (30 days before the May 15 vote.)
McLaughlin then said she felt the budget “had to be looked at more carefully, looked at a bit more closely.” She thought the Finance Committee (of administrators) should “go around on this maintenance budget. I’m not comfortable without taking a closer look.”
Connors asked what specifically she felt needed to be looked at. (The budget has been around with the same numbers for one month. She said, “I’ve talked in the past about the facilities budget and I’m not happy about it. I think we can tighten up. It hasn’t changed. We need to be as tight as we can. We don’t mean to be difficult.”
She put forth a motion to table approval of the budget until April 9.
Peter Bassano said, “We’ve seen belt tightening this year that’s unprecedented,” but said he would support further discussion (‘Let’s make sure we have it right.”) Board member Bill Pollack said he did not want to “lose momentum.”
Pollack, Bassano and McLaughlin made reference to e-mails they have received (a lot apparently) on the issue of the budget.
The Finance Committee will meet this week, and the Board will return April 9 to vote on the budget.
