The East Williston Board of Education voted to set the lowest school district tax levy increase in 20 years at $49,385,182, representing a 2.6 percent year-to-year increase for the 2012-13 budget at last Wednesday night’s board meeting.
East Williston Assistant Superintendent for Business Jacqueline Fitzpatrick said the proposed tax levy is $372,706 below the allowable tax levy under the current state-mandated tax cap.
Fitzpatrick said the tax levy was consistent with the budget presented the school board for the May election. The budget included returning $544,000 from the district’s appropriated fund balance to the taxpayers.
“The board is also giving back to the community $544,000, which has been a commitment by the board each year,” said East Williston School Board President Mark Kamberg. “We do give money back to help the
taxpayers.”
The 2012-13 budget expenditures for East Williston is $52,724,693, a 2.49 percent increase over the $51.44 million budget for 2011-12. Estimated state aid is $2,411,571 and other revenue sources total $383,940, according to Fitzpatrick.
“Our revenue and our taxes are how we pay for those expenditures,” she said.
Fitzpatrick said the district tax levy could have risen to 3.38 percent to $49,757,888 under the structure of the state tax cap.
Last year the school board set the tax levy at $48.1 million, a 3.56 percent increase over the prior year.
In 1992, the district tax levy rose by 8.48 percent, and reached its high point in 2002 with a 10.57 percent increase, Fitzpatrick said.
Fitzpatrick broke down the tax levy proportions in each of four taxpayer classes for September 2011 as $46,022,051 for homeowners, $64,201 for condominiums, $1,155,613 for utilities and $2,143,317 for commercial revenue.
“We do not know how these proportions this September will roll out, however if they are the same from last year, this is how they will be,” she said.
