School Tax Bills Are a Mixed Bag

Tax bills being received this week by property owners in the Brewster School District reflect a mixed bag.

Residents of Southeast are finding a slight increase in their school tax statements while those residing in Patterson will find a decrease in school taxes for the 2010-11 school year.

Assistant Superintendent Tim Conway said the tax rate for Southeast was $17.79, a $1.12 increase per $1,000 of assessed property value over last September’s rate.

Patterson, meanwhile, is experiencing a tax rate of $17.93 per $1,000 for 2010. Due to reductions in assessments and the uncertain economy, school tax bills have declined on the average in the Patterson portion of the district.

Conway told the COURIER the typical homeowner in Southeast would be paying $4,991 in school taxes this year as compared to $4,791 in 2009. Patterson property owners will pay $3,693 in 2010-2011 as compared to $3,930 in 2009-2010.

The district’s $82.6 million budget is exactly the same fiscal spending plan as last year’s budget. However, due to reductions in state aid, $13 million in unfunded mandates and other expenses, including the MTA Mobility tax, higher retirement costs, and court-ordered tax certioraris, the district’s tax levy has increased by 3.9 percent.

Board of Education President Dr. Stephen Jambor described the budget process last spring as “our most difficult. We spent many sleepless nights by identifying places that could be cut and spreading the pain as evenly as possible so that no group bore a disproportionate amount of that pain.”

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jane Sandbank described her district as being unique throughout the region since “everyone agreed to a wage freeze this year, which led to significant savings and allowed us to restore some of the positions originally cut.”