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Gates Chili proposes $139.8 million budget, cites $7.2 million state aid boost and expiring PILOT
Summary
Gates Chili Central School District announced a $139,776,252 proposed budget to appear on the May 20 ballot; officials said state aid rises $7.2 million and an expired PILOT will raise the district tax levy by just under $1.5 million, though average tax rates are expected to fall about $0.14 per $1,000 of assessed value.
Gates Chili Central School District on Tuesday presented a proposed $139,776,252 budget for the 2025–26 school year and said the spending plan will go before voters on the May 20 ballot, Gates Chili district official Dr. Mitch Ball said.
The proposal relies primarily on state aid and local property taxes, which Ball said together fund about 91% of the district’s spending. “Our proposed budget for next school year is $139,776,252,” Ball said in a district video message.
Ball said New York State requires a school district’s revenues to match its expenses. He told viewers the district’s state aid will increase by $7,200,000 next year. “This year Gates Chili State Aid is increasing by $7,200,000,” he said.
The district also expects a tax levy increase just under $1,500,000 after a payments-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) agreement expired in the town of Gates and the property returned to the full tax roll. “As a result, the district’s tax levy will increase by just under $1,500,000,” Ball said.
Ball said the growth in the property tax base will reduce the average tax rate for residents in both the towns of Gates and Chili by roughly 14 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, a change he described as a 0.65% decrease. He said a budget newsletter with more details would arrive in district mailboxes in the coming days and that digital copies are available on the district’s website.
In the message, Ball previewed a final episode in the district’s budget information series that will explain ballot items tied to capital needs, including planned bus purchases and approaches to lower future transportation costs. “In our next and final episode, we’ll dig into the construction of this year’s ballot including this year’s bus purchases and our plans to save on future bus costs,” he said.
The video was an informational update; the transcript does not record a board vote or the result of any ballot. The May 20 vote outcome was not included in the message.
For more details on the district’s revenue and spending assumptions, Ball directed residents to the upcoming printed newsletter and the district’s online budget materials.
