Hendrick Hudson Board weighs tax-levy choices as reserves shrink after Indian Point revenue loss

HENDRICK HUDSON, N.Y. — The Hendrick Hudson Central School District Board of Education on Feb. 4 examined five budget scenarios and framed a choice between using fund balance or asking voters for a higher tax levy to avoid program cuts.

Assistant to the superintendent for financial stability Jill (last name variably transcribed) told the board the district now expects “only a mere $124,000 extra over last year’s state aid,” far below the $650,000 the district had anticipated. She said the district planned to use $4.4 million of fund balance last year but is on pace to use about $3.3 million in the current year, which will accelerate reserve depletion.

Why it matters: trustees and staff said the district lost about $25 million in revenue after the Indian Point plant shutdown and that continued reliance on reserves would put programs at risk over the next several years. The board viewed a middle ground between the tax-cap-compliant option and higher-levy scenarios as the likeliest path to preserve both services and some reserves.

Details: Jill presented five scenarios that balance different mixes of tax levy increases and fund-balance use. The district’s tax-cap-compliant option would produce a levy around $56 million (a 2.86% levy change) and rely on roughly $9.5 million of fund balance, leaving about $17.1 million in reserves under that scenario. Board members asked for more granular comparisons of the taxable liability for homes at $350,000, $500,000 and $700,000 in the district’s two taxing towns.

Board response: Several board members urged caution on using reserves. One member summarized the trade-off: lower immediate tax increases may conserve day-to-day affordability but will accelerate reserve depletion and could cause larger increases later. Another board member suggested a levy range between about 4.57% and 6.4% as a compromise and noted the community accepted a 4.57% levy in the prior budget vote.

Next steps: The district will file a preliminary tax-cap report with the state by March 1. Staff will open a “ThoughtExchange” or similar community feedback tool and host public meet-and-greets (Feb. 25; March 11; April 7 with a virtual option) ahead of the May 19 budget vote. The board asked staff to include the scenario slides and a clear disclaimer that figures are based on current assessed values and equalization rates.

Provenance: Budget scenarios and state-aid figures were discussed throughout the financial presentation (topicintro: SEG 603; topfinish: SEG 758).