Wallingford-Swarthmore considering 3.2 percent tax hike
NETHER PROVIDENCE >> A proposed budget for the next fiscal year that will boost taxes by 3.2 percent has won the unanimous backing of the WallingfordSwarthmore School Board.
The 9-0 vote came during the board’s Feb 11 meeting following a brief recap of the spending plan by district Business Administrator Martha Kew. Final adoption of the budget, which would take effect July 1, is scheduled for June 10.
While the state’s Act 1 index for the district would limit the tax hike to 2.3 percent, Wallingford-Swarthmore is taking advantage of a permitted exception for special education costs that will tack on an additional 0.9 percent.
The only noteworthy development since she presented the fiscal roadmap on Jan. 14 was the governor’s unveiling of the state’s preliminary budget, Kew said. Under that plan, about $166 million will be sought for increased basic education expenditures and $50 million more for special education spending.
It also calls for another $45 million for school safety and security programs.
“Will this happen? Stay tuned,” Kew said, adding that advocacy groups are lobbying for the allocations and legislative hearings on the proposals have just begun.
Board members had few questions on the district’s preliminary budget, though member Robert Reiger wanted to know more about how a countywide tax reassessment could impact Wallingford-Swarthmore property owners.
Specifically, Reiger asked Kew if the owners of older homes not assessed at current market value might face significant tax hikes.
Kew responded that under most reassessments, one-third of property owners will see their taxes decrease, one-third will observe no change and one-third will be hit with an increase.
However, she was quick to point out the overall amount of taxes collected by the district will remain the same, albeit via a different distribution. “I don’t get a windfall,” Kew said.
“It’s effectively a zero-sum game,” board member Richard Sonntag said.
When asked by Sonntag where Wallingford-Swarthmore’s taxcollection rate stands, Kew said it was at 98 percent, although it dipped to about 94 percent during the recession.
For a home assessed at the district average of $179,000, with a current annual school tax bill of $8,109, the new budget would result in additional $260 in taxes. Meanwhile, for a homeowner with a property assessed at $337,000, with an annual bill of $17,079 at present, the new rate would lead to another $549 in taxes.
During a board meeting in January, former member David Serratore said he had reviewed data from the last 10 years of Wallingford-Swarthmore budget audits and found that during eight of those years, the district had either overestimated expenditures or underestimated revenues.
He urged the board to reject anything greater than a 1-percent tax increase for this year and possibly for two years.
Kew said during her presentation that it was a “delicate balancing act” between maintaining appropriate fund balance and increasing taxes.