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Post by backintheday on Dec 8, 2008 17:28:02 GMT -5
Chriswendt thanks for info.
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Post by Chris_Wendt on Mar 30, 2009 13:00:50 GMT -5
just received my school tax bill for 2008-2009, the percentage change is 9.59%. I guess everyone elses is the same. What would the number have been if we weren't under austerity? Dear Back-In-The-Day, please PM me about this or call me at 516-633-9410. You may not be aware of this, but it was divulged that the Board of Education decided, for reasons known only to themselves, NOT to apply the usual and customary $1.3 Million of Allocated Fund Balance to reduce this year's Tax Levy. This caused a Property Tax SPIKE that had absolutely NOTHING to do with the Budget, failed or otherwise. What is did accomplish was the following: - Made a BIG FAT LIE out of the Budget Brochure and Revenue Budget in which the BoE listed the $1.3 Million as REVENUE to REDUCE TAXES
[glow=red,2,300]CORRECTION: THE BUDGET BROCHURE AND ORIGINAL REVENUE BUDGET CONTAINED NO WILLFULLY UNTRUE STATEMENTS - Chris Wendt 04-02-09[/glow]
[/color] [/li][li]Made the Austerity Budget APPEAR to be as expensive, tax wise, as a passed budget would have been [/li][li]Allowed the BoE to HOARD $1.3 Million of YOUR tax money to soften the tax impact of NEXT YEAR's budget, allowing the BoE to avoid having to make $1.3 Million of additional MEANINGFUL, PERMANENT SPENDING CUTS THIS YEAR. [/li][li]Possibly VIOLATED the NYS Open Meetings LAW, as it does not appear that this decision was discussed in any public meeting nor was a motion passed by the BoE to enact this decision (ANYONE - Please correct me if I am wrong on this by providing the date of such public meeting when this was done). [/li][/ul] This kind of behavior by the Board of Education, by the members of the Board of Education, is not in the best interests of our community, and certainly is not helpful toward actually passing the next budget. With appropriate regards, Chris Wendt
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Post by lilly on Mar 30, 2009 15:54:12 GMT -5
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Post by Chris_Wendt on Mar 30, 2009 21:46:13 GMT -5
Adopting the Tax Levy is a formal certification and legal action of the Board of Education authorizing the County to collect property taxes in the amount specified for both the Schools and the Public Library.
The Allocated Fund Balance is not part of adopting the Tax Levy, which does not address revenue sources other than property taxes. The amount of money allocated from the general fund balance had been decided by the Board of Education when they authorized the printing of the budget brochure and when they adopted the original budget and promulgated exhibits and community presentations which included Revenue Budget numbers. Right up until the June re-vote the Allocated Fund Balance (amount of fund balance money that was to have been used to reduce the tax levy) was stated by the Board of Education to be $1.3 Million.
At some point after the June re-vote but prior to adopting the Tax Levy on July 31, the Board of Ed discussed and then took action to reduce the amount of allocated fund balance in order to increase the actual and perceived cost of the austerity budget. "Look, defeating the budget didn't really save you anything in taxes!".
My belief is that the Board of Education's discussion and subsequent action about reducing the allocated fund balance was done in secret, out of public view or knowledge, and therefore probably in violation of the Open Meetings Law.
Now, I am seriously asking if anyone can either correct or corroborate by belief about this, please come forward, either here or privately with me.
Thank you,
Chris Wendt
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