Trustees Set 2011/12 Tax Rate
During their meeting this past Monday night, Huntington School Board members voted 7-0 to set the 2011/12 tax rate at $207.16 per $100 assessed valuation. The 3.15 percent increase over last year is identical to the estimated tax increase projected last May when residents went to the polls to vote on the proposed school budget.
Keeping the increase in taxes identical to last spring's estimated amount, despite alarmingly lower assessed property values, required trustees to appropriate an additional $250,000 from the district's fund balance. In all, the district is using $2.245 million in fund balance monies to hold the line on taxes.
The 2011/12 budget totals $109,037,301 an increase of 0.23 percent over last year's amount. In addition to the appropriation from the fund balance, projected revenues include $94,008,187 in property taxes, $10,918,014 in state aid and $1,866,100 in miscellaneous revenues.
Assistant Superintendent David H. Grackin told trustees that the district's external auditing firm of Cullen and Danowski has calculated the Huntington School District's excess fund balance to be $942,890. "This is what remains as fund balance after we appropriated an additional $250,000 to reduce the tax levy as a result of continued decreases in assessed valuation. The district will also have the statutory maximum of four percent in un-appropriated fund balance.
Mr. Grackin told trustees that it was his recommendation to increase the district's capital reserve fund by $942,890, the entire amount of the excess fund balance. Trustees voted to approve the recommendation, increasing the monies held in the capital reserve fund to $5,309,967.