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Finance committee hears budget update; proposed 3.5% real-estate tax increase, $221 average homeowner impact
Summary
The finance committee reviewed a draft general operating budget that would keep the district under the Act 1 index with a proposed 3.5% tax increase (36.2189 mills), a $487,000 fund-balance appropriation for one-time purchases and a reduction of one high-school FTE to lower salary and benefit costs.
Mr. Tracy presented the finance committee with the district's budget timeline and recent adjustments, saying administration plans to place a final general operating budget on display ahead of the June board meeting.
The nut graf: After a personnel adjustment and medical-cost revisions, the district projects a proposed real-estate tax increase of 3.5% (36.2189 mills) that keeps the district under the Act 1 index and avoids seeking a referendum exception; Mr. Tracy said the budget changes reduce the district's tax-levy need by roughly $513,000 and that the average residential taxpayer impact is about $221.
Mr. Tracy said the budget includes elimination of one full-time high-school teaching position (resulting from an unanticipated retirement), producing about $91,000 in salary savings and $61,000 in benefits savings. He described a small medical adjustment that lowered the proposed tax increase into the 3.5% range and noted the district remains self-insured for medical claims.
Mr. Tracy outlined the district's capital-reserve budgeting approach: technology, facilities and food-service capital items are budgeted from specific reserve buckets; food service operates as a proprietary fund supported by meal revenue and federal commodities. He said the budget appropriates $487,000 of fund balance for a multi-year training purchase and that Chartwells food-service contracting for next year still requires board ratification.
On the calendar, Mr. Tracy said the administration will hold one more finance committee meeting (June 1), place the budget on display within roughly 10 days and present the final budget for board consideration at the June board meeting.
Committee members praised the administration's work to keep the proposed increase within the index and requested continued transparency as the budget is finalized. There was no formal vote on the budget at this meeting; the finance committee will reconvene to review capital-reserve components, internal-service funding and remaining budget technicals before forwarding materials to the board.
