California’s preliminary budget includes tax hike
By JEFF STITT
jstitt@yourmvi.com
Property owners in the California Area School District could see a slight tax increase for the 2020-21 school year.
When they began forming the budget for next school year, CASD administrators and board members projected a deficit of more than $1.1 million.
The school board initially voted to have a voter referendum question placed on the June 2 election ballot asking for permission to raise property taxes beyond the state index, but then unanimously voted on a resolution at the April 29 meeting to “withdraw” the referendum question out of fear that taxpayers wouldn’t be able to bear the brunt of a tax bill that went beyond the index “in light of COVID-19 economic distress.”
District leaders, during a virtual meeting this week, discussed and approved the 2020-21 preliminary budget, announcing the district expects a deficit of around $385,000 for 2020-21.
Expected expenditures in the preliminary budget total 16,047,511, which business manager Mary Burford said equates to an approximate $130,000 increase in spending from the 2019-20 budget.
“There is an expected tax increase of .8650 mills, which consists of the .414 mills permitted by Act 1 index of 3.6% for the District and .451 mills for the special education exception approved by the state,” Burford stated in an email to the Mon Valley Independent on Friday. “Our average property assessment is $72,000, which would equate to an annual increase in district real estate tax of $62.28 or just over $5 per month. A property assessed at $50,000 would see an annual increase of $43.25, while the $100,000 property would increase by $86.50 for the year.”
To read the rest of this story, please see a copy of Saturday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at https://e.monvalleyindependent.com.
