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Sales tax receipts up; staff recommends holding $500 employee bonus at current level
Summary
Finance staff reported year-over-year increases in the 2-cent sales tax (3.78%) and the EFID half-penny (about 2.8%); staff recommended keeping the $500 bonus unchanged because raising it would reduce the fund balance and could jeopardize future bonuses.
Finance staff told the Tangipahoa Parish School Board Finance Committee that February collections for the district's 2-cent sales tax rose 3.78% year over year; annualized growth is roughly 3.6 percent. The half-penny EFID (education fund) was reported up about 2.8%, or a little over 2% compared with the previous year.
Committee members asked whether the board could increase the $500 employee bonus tied to fund-balance thresholds. Staff warned that the bonus language is fixed: the $500 payment is tied to a $4,000,000 threshold. Staff said projections show the bonus program reduces the targeted fund balance by about $1 million per year and that increasing the bonus would risk making future bonuses unsustainable. Staff recommended keeping the $500 amount in place rather than increasing it.
On timing for any broader pay adjustments, staff said the administration plans to wait for clarity about state actions on permanent pay raises and retirement savings, then bring a systemwide pay analysis (with a consultant) in the spring of next year.
