Byram Hills board hears first budget hearing as tax-cap math projects a lower levy
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Summary
At a Jan. 26 budget hearing, district staff outlined a fiscal projection that paying off final debt service will reduce next years tax-levy cap, producing an estimated 1.01% (-$938,000) decrease in the allowable levy; board scheduled further budget hearings and promised detailed reserve and levy discussions in March.
At the Jan. 26 Board of Education meeting, district finance staff presented the first of three budget hearings, laying out a fiscal trend analysis and a step-by-step explanation of the New York State tax-cap formula that will shape the 2026-27 budget. The presentation showed the districts 2025-26 combined budget figure at about $107,000,000 and noted the district will make its final debt-service payment of $2,300,000 this year.
The presenter (identified in the meeting as Kelly) explained how the tax-cap formula starts with the current-year levy ($92,700,000 cited), applies a tax-base growth factor (0.84 percent this year), factors in payments-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOTs, cited as IBM and Engelbert), and subtracts exemptions such as debt service, bus purchases and a portion of BOCES capital. After those adjustments the allowable growth factor (based on a capped CPI of 2 percent) is applied to determine the maximum levies that can be proposed to voters without exceeding statutory thresholds.
Kelly told the board that because the districts final debt payment drops off the exemptions list, net exemptions fall from prior-year levels to roughly $431,000 for 2026-27. That change reduces the calculated tax-levy limit; the staffs projection put the districts tax levy limit at about $91,800,000 for next year, an estimated decrease of roughly 1.01 percent, or about $938,000, compared with the current levy. The presenter cautioned the numbers are projections and depend on final CPI, aid, PILOT receipts and retirement-rate calculations.
Board members and staff discussed implications and options. Several members noted that districts sometimes smooth year-to-year impacts by using reserves or timing capital expenditures, and the presenter said the board and the finance advisory committee will meet in coming weeks to consider reserves and the proposed levy. The board scheduled its next budget hearing for March 3 (administrative proposed budget), with program hearings set for March 10 and March 24 and adoption anticipated in May ahead of the May 19 budget vote.
The district posted the presentation on its website and invited community questions. The board did not take a final vote on any tax-levy figure at the Jan. 26 meeting; the session was an informational hearing to explain the formula and the preliminary projections.
Next steps: the board will continue detailed budget work with the finance advisory committee and return to the public in March with a proposed levy and reserve strategy.