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Setting the 2020-2021 Tax Rate - Good News In Taxing Times

9/11/2020

At the September 10th, BOE meeting, the Sayville Board of Education voted to approve the tax rate increase of 1.23%.  This rate was lower than the Voter-Approved tax rate increase of 1.99% proposed during the June 9th Budget Vote. (See PowerPoint presentation, below right.)

When Sayville School District projects a tax rate at budget time, it does not yet know the Town of Islip’s Assessed Valuation(AV) and Base Allocations (BA) of properties. That’s why it’s called a Proposed Budget.  Sayville School District has to wait until August and September to receive these values. The AV and BA change annually based upon such things as the number of homes sold, new homes built, developed properties throughout the year, and Tax CERTs (adjustments to home owners’ tax rates).

As expected this year, Sayville District received the final Assessed Valuation in August and the Base Allocations in September from the Town of Islip. For the fifth consecutive year has seen a modest increase in our total Assessed Valuation. Homestead A/V increased by $892,890 & NonHomestead A/V decreased by $335,392. This will have a positive effect on the Homestead Tax Rate, and a negative effect on the Non-Homestead Tax Rate.

However, for the average homeowner, these numbers mean the District can approve a tax rate increase to rates lower than originally proposed at Budget vote. In a year that has its share of challenges, this is good news in troubling times.

 

LOOKING AHEAD AT THE FISCAL CHALLENGES

Re-opening of schools under the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted our 2020-21 Voter-Approved budget:

  • Resources budgeted for other purposes have been re-purposed to purchase PPE supplies, technology and equipment to meet the mandated requirements to reopen for in-person and distance learning instruction (to date over $622,000 spent on COVID-19 related items
  • The State has begun to deduct 20% of District’s state aid due to the shortfall of NYS revenue projections (to date $172,000 deducted from our aid payments);
  • There remains uncertainty if these mid-year state aid cuts will become ‘permanent reductions’ or be restored at a later date.

In anticipation of these challenges, Sayville School District is closely monitoring its fiscal plan and will keep the public updated throughout the year.

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