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LOWERING the Tax Levy Rate for 2016-2017

Sayville Administrators and Board of Education members couldn’t have been happier at the September 15th, 2016 Board meeting. Nearly every year at this time, the BOE is required to include in its agenda the setting of the School Tax Levy rate for the upcoming academic year. This year, the new 2016-2017 Homestead (Residential) Tax Rate was a reduction of -.80%, a real reason for rejoicing.

This year’s rate reduction was enormously assisted by the restoration of $1.7 million from the Gap Elimination Adjustment.*** And there are many people to thank for this significant accomplishment, most notably the Sayville community that continues to show its support for Sayville Schools. In addition, our Sayville Board of Education members John Verdone, Norm deVenau, Thomas Cooley, Maureen Dolan, Debbie Van Essendelft, Keith Kolar and Carl Cangelosi worked tirelessly to bring awareness to the community as well as to our state politicians about the GEA’s detrimental effects. Our School Superintendent Dr. Walter Schartner and Assistant Superintendent for Business John Belmonte participated in many educational conferences and financial forums statewide, always speaking out on behalf of the Sayville school district and students. And our Sayville community of concerned taxpayers, PTA members, school organizations, and parents rallied by sending their letters and emails to Albany. With the help of Senator Tom Croci, Senator Phil Boyle and Assemblyman Andrew Garbarino—who listened and advocated for Sayville—GEA funds were restored for this school year.

In addition to the restoration of state aid, there are other external factors that influenced the setting of this year’s -.8% Homestead tax rate reduction after it was presented to residents during the School Budget vote in May.

In August of 2016, the Town of Islip determined the year’s Assessed Valuations** and the Base Allocation figures*  that annually impact the setting of the ‘tax rate’ and the Tax Levy. (Base Allocations and Assessed Valuations are determined by the Town of Islip, NOT the School District.)

This year, like several years prior, there has been another shift in our Base Allocations from ‘NonHomestead (Businesses)’ to ‘Homestead (Residential).’ While this gives the Sayville merchants a sizeable tax decrease of -4.01% this year, Sayville School District needed to add an additional $480K to the Appropriated Fund Balance to maintain the Proposed Tax Rate of -0.80%. The good news is with the restoration of the GEA, Sayville was able to keep the reduction in the Tax levy Rate and still maintain the maximum of 4% in the Unassigned Fund Balance’ that will  help reduce future tax rates. Most importantly, Sayville School District was able to enhance student programs despite the tax reduction.

In Summation:

•  Our Legislators fought to restore over $1.7M Gap Elimination Adjustment.
• We have seen another shift in our Base Allocations from ‘NonHomestead’ to ‘Homestead’;
• There has been only a modest increase in our Assessed Valuation of $77,632;
• This change in Base Allocations had the effect of increasing the projected Homestead tax rate, and decreasing the Non-Homestead Tax Rate;
• To keep the ‘Homestead’ Tax Rate at - .80% required the school district use an additional $480,000 in Appropriated Fund Balance;
• The ‘Non-Homestead’ Tax Rate decreases to - 4.01%.
•  ‘Unassigned Fund Balance’ has been maintained at the maximum of 4% to help reduce future tax rates;

As in previous years, Sayville School District remains fiscally responsible by taking into consideration its state-aid projections, expenditures, miscellaneous revenues, along with its fund/reserves when it balances its annual school budgets and submits it for resident approval each May.

The healthy fiscal condition of Sayville School District is a direct result of the Administration’s prudent financial management and the Board of Education’s cooperation in ensuring the stability of funds and programs for our students. Likewise, the integrity of the District’s credit ratings continually earns Sayville School District high marks. The Aa2 assigned by Moody’s Investor Service to Sayville is summarized as follows: “The Aa2 rating reflects the stable tax base with below average wealth levels, well managed financial position with satisfactory reserves, and elevated debt burden with average payout.” Furthermore, Moody’s reiterates its comments regarding the District’s “financial operations and position—healthy financial position with sound fiscal management.”

For more details, please check the September 15^th 2016 presentation at BoardDocs on our website at:  http://www.boarddocs.com/ny/spsny/Board.nsf

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***Since the 2009-10 school year, New York State had been using the Gap Elimination Adjustment (GEA) to deduct from each school district's state aid allocation. The GEA was established to help the state fill its revenue shortfall, allowing the state to shift its costs to local school districts, but once the shortfall had been eliminated, the State continued to deduct from school aid. Districts had been coping with the cumulative impact of five consecutive years of state aid losses as a result of these GEA deductions and the imposition of a 2% Tax Cap.

**Assessed Valuations (taxable assessment of all properties in Sayville)

* The Base Allocation figure that represented the percentage of Homestead (Residential) and NonHomestead (Business) properties within the District.