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Final Kane school budget shows slight tax increase |
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Written by Publisher
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Friday, 12 June 2009 |
The "average" annual tax bill for a residential property in the Kane
Area School District will climb by $21, according to the final 2009-10
budget adopted Thursday by the school board.
By Ted Lutz
Republican Staff
The "average" annual tax bill for a residential property in the Kane Area School District will climb by $21, according to the final 2009-10 budget adopted Thursday by the school board.
The "average" residential bill will increase from $508 to $529 based on information provided by Steve Perry, business manager for the school district.
Acting at its meeting at the high school library, the school board voted 8-0 in favor of the final budget of $16,055,028.
Stephanie Eckstrom, president of the school board, voted in favor of the budget along with board members Larry Lamping, Ed Kocjancic Jr., Gary Ziegler, Dick Coleman, Mark Paup, Harry Steele and Dave Westerburg. Board member Ken Kane did not attend the meeting.
The tax rates approved by the board reflect a 4.1 percent increase. The school board previously voted to limit any tax increase to 6.2 percent. A hike of more than 6.2 percent would require voter approval at a referendum.
The school tax rate in McKean County will rise from 13.80 mills to 14.37 mills. In Elk County, the rate will climb from 25.87 mills to 27.38 mills. The rates are different because the two counties use different formulas for determining assessed property valuation.
Even with the increase, Kane has the lowest property tax rates among all school districts in McKean and Elk Counties.
While the "average" residential tax bill will rise slightly in the coming fiscal year, most property owners qualify for a "homestead" exclusion. Those who have filed applications to qualify for the program will receive a tax break of $248.49, according to figures released Thursday by Perry. Applications to participate in the program must be filed with the county Board of Assessment.
Money to offset the loss in revenue for "homestead" and "farmstead" exclusions comes from the district's share of $339,442 in state "gaming" funds generated by slot machines and .2 percent from the earned income tax (EIT) levied on people who work.
The budget includes $579,849 in both revenues and expenditures as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This act commonly is known as the "federal stimulus" package.
Under the latest estimates, the district expects to receive $240,341 in "Idea" funds for special education, $184,100 to improve basic education, $148,608 in additional federal Title 1 money for reading and math and $6,800 in federal Title II-D money for technology.
In a report to the board, Perry said this "has been a challenging year for budget prep" because of the changing federal stimulus totals and uncertain figures from the state.
The state budget still has not been finalized. Perry advised the school board that "it may be necessary to re-open the Kane budget upon final passage of the state budget at some time in the near future."
The school business manager also said he is "looking forward to when the dust settles" and figures from the state budget and federal stimulus package crystalize.
In addition to adopting the general operating budget, the school board voted 8-0 Thursday to approve a capital reserve fund budget of $7,400,000. The school district plans to tap some of these funds to help finance the $22 million school construction project. This project, which is accelerating now with classes over for the school year and better weather conditions, includes the construction of a new elementary school as an addition on the east side of the Kane Middle School. The project also includes major renovations at the middle school.
In other action related to taxes, the school board agreed Thursday on a list of tax collectors for the district. The tax collectors include: borough of Kane-- Marianne Rook; Wetmore Township-- Roseanne Albaugh; borough of Mt. Jewett-- Darlene Kossack; Hamilton Township-- Claire Ann Depto; Highland Township-- Sam Moran; and Jones Township-- Joseph Haight.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 30 July 2009 )
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