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Easton board reviews $223.3M proposed budget and 3.5% tax-levy plan amid fund-balance concerns
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Summary
District finance staff presented a proposed $223.27 million general fund budget and a 3.5% tax-levy plan (2% operations, 1.5% for capital). Board members debated collection-rate assumptions, fund-balance replenishment, and options including a modest additional levy or EIT changes to accelerate rebuilding reserves.
District finance staff presented the proposed 2026–27 general fund budget and a plan to set the tax levy at 3.5 percent, with 1.5 points earmarked for capital projects including the new high school.
Jack from the business office told the board the proposed general fund totals $223,270,226 and described the revenue mix: local property taxes, state basic education funding, special-education and pension reimbursements (PSERS), and federal Title funds. He explained the 3.5% levy as a 2% operations increase plus a 1.5% capital allocation and said the proposed budget is balanced at that level.
Board members pressed on assumptions underpinning the budget. The presentation uses a 91% collection-rate assumption for property taxes—down from the 94% the district used in earlier years—so the budget is more conservative about receivables. "We decided to go a little bit lower because that's been where it has been," Jack said, noting Easton has recorded years at or below the lower collection rate in recent history.
Several board members urged that the district consider raising the levy modestly above 3.5% to accelerate rebuilding the general fund balance. One member noted the district's fund balance has fallen significantly and argued a half-point or one-point increase could start reversing the trend; Jack said any increase beyond 3.5% could be directed to a separate fund dedicated to restoring reserves rather than ongoing operations.
The board also discussed earned-income tax (EIT) changes as a structurally different way to lift revenue, and asked staff for estimates of how an EIT change would affect households across the district's sending municipalities.
Jack said the budget team will finalize documents for the April 28 vote on the proposed budget; the final budget adoption is scheduled for June 30 with the public inspection period in between. He said staff will aim to provide a summary of the 23-24 draft audit and a plan for restoring fund balance should the audit show deeper shortfalls.
