Bethlehem residents are set to see a lower school tax rate following the reassessment project that occurred earlier in the year.
At the Wednesday, Aug. 13, meeting of the Bethlehem Central School Board, district Chief Business and Financial Officer Judi Kehoe said the rate is below projections from earlier in the year. Last year’s tax rate was at $21.59 per $1,000. The estimated tax rate for 2014 was at $20.82, however, the actual rate ended up being about $20.77 per $1,000. The rates are the same for both Bethlehem and New Scotland since properties in both towns are assessed and 100 percent of market value.
“With commercial properties taking on a greater share of the tax burden, that caused our tax rates to, in fact, be lower,” said Kehoe.
Property owners whose assessments stayed the same or increased only slightly should be seeing a lower tax bill this year, according to Kehoe.
Voters in the Bethlehem Central School District approved a 2014-15 school year budget on May 20 by a margin of 2,496 votes to 1,140 votes. The $92,627,000 spending plan carries a 2.99 percent increase to the property tax levy, with spending increased by more than $2.2 million for the coming year.
To balance the budget, the district used about $1.4 million from its fund balance. Bethlehem schools also received some restoration of state aid to close the $4.8 million budget gap, with district officials implementing spending reductions and finding savings within district contracts.
“The district is still going to collect 2.99 percent more in the levy. It’s just that it’s spread among more parcels, or parcels with higher value in the community,” said Kehoe.
The reassessment project, which took place this spring, was controversial for some residents. A group of large landowners were unhappy with their reassessments because they did not feel the company overseeing the project was using comparable land to evaluate their properties. Others said some factors such as soil grade and/or utilities were overlooked. They have been a frequent presence at town meetings.
The district and BOCES are now putting together tax bills to send to residents.
In June, both Bethlehem Central and Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Central opted to start billing and collecting taxes themselves, rather than have the town do it on the districts’ behalf. This means payments will no longer be accepted at the Bethlehem Town Hall.
Residents can now pay their bills by mailing it to Bethlehem Central School District?Tax Processing Unit District, P.O. Box 12905, Albany, NY 12212.
For those who wish to pay their bill in person, both Pioneer Banks on Delaware Avenue and Glenmont Road will accept payments Monday through Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Thursday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Food services update
Also at the Aug. 13 meeting, Kehoe said the district’s food services program lost more money than was originally projected.
The program lost about $105,000 last year, and was expected to lose $63,000 this year. Kehoe said the actual number was close to $87,000.
In June, the district approved a $60,000 transfer from the general fund to help with the projected loss. Kehoe said after going through the close-out process, which consists of counting inventory and obtaining sales data, the loss was larger than expected.
Revenues in some areas, such as the new coffee shop, increased. But so did salaries and employee benefits to help with the transition of finding a food services director. Kehoe also said waste before sale may have been an issue.
Kehoe asked the school board to approve an additional $20,00 to be transferred from the general fund to food services, which the board eventually approved.
Board member Joanne Cunningham asked if anything could be done to help stop the waste. Kehoe said it had not been calculated before, but more will be done in the coming year.
New Food Services Director Allissa Eiser said that would be a part of her goal for the coming year, along with instituting unique ways to prevent waste from students after food items are purchased.