Budget Q & A
Proposed 2010-2011 Budget
Questions & Answers
What happens if a majority of residents vote no on the school budget?
Under New York State law, if a school budget is defeated, the Board of Education would have three options:
• Go directly to a
contingent budget.
• Put the same budget before the voters a second time.
• Put a revised (and typically lower) budget before the voters.
After a second defeat, the board has no choice but to adopt a contingent budget. This year, contingent budgets must be capped at a 0 percent spending increase.
Under a contingency budget a district can’t spend money in certain areas by law. Assuming a 0 percent cap, an additional $19,950 would have to be cut. Under this scenario, it is anticipated that there would be an elimination of new equipment purchases; a reduction in purchasing supplies; fees for non-school building use; and elimination of an unknown number of instructional and non-instructional staff positions. The tax levy increase associated with a contingent budget would be 1.52 percent.
How will the budget proposal affect my taxes?
If the proposed budget is approved by voters on May 18, the tax levy – or total amount of money collected through taxes – will increase by 2.25 percent.
If approved by voters, the anticipated tax rate increase would be 2.71 percent. Tax rates, or the amount collected per $1,000 of assessed property value will not be set until August. This is because tax rates are determined by the assessed value of property within each town, which is finalized by the town over the summer, and equalization rates, which are set by the state’s Office of Real Property Tax Services.
Sample calculations are included in the budget presentation (PDF document).
What tax exemptions can Green Island residents receive?
The New York State School Tax Relief (STAR) program allows property owners to exempt a certain amount of the assessed value of their property, and thus lowers their school tax bill. There are two levels of STAR: Basic STAR applies to all owner-occupied, primary residences and Enhanced STAR is for senior citizens whose income does not exceed a set limit.
According to the state, the exemptions will reduce Green Island school assessments by $1,670 for those with Basic STAR and by $3,340 for those with Enhanced STAR.
The district has no control over the STAR program and does not estimate tax impacts based on STAR savings. For information on the program, visit www.orps.state.ny.us or call your local assessor’s office.
It is also important to know that the STAR legislation allows for the amount of the exemption to be reduced annually. When that happens, it can result in property owners seeing a greater than expected increase in their tax bills.
