Lower tax rates for Mahopac and Carmel Schools

The Journal News - Thursday, September 6th, 2007

Lower tax rates for some Putnam schools

Lower tax rates have been announced in the Carmel and Mahopac school districts. Read on for more information.MAHOPAC – Mahopac property owners will see a drop in the tax rate increase that was projected last May when the school district’s 2007-2008 Budget was proposed, according to school district officials.

The increase for the Town of Carmel rate will dip from a projected 1.99% to 1.42%. For Putnam Valley, the rate will change from a 1.99% projected increase to a 3.45% decrease. Per $1,000 of assessed valuation, Carmel’s rate will increase 46 cents over last year; Putnam Valley’s will decrease 54 cents.

The change in the rate occurs when an actual accounting of the town’s assessable properties differs from the projection the school district makes prior to the school budget vote in May. “When we propose the budget we have to run with preliminary numbers because that’s all we have,” says David Chapman, Mahopac’s Assistant Superintendent for Business. “Sometimes we’re right on target, sometimes not. We never know until we get the final numbers.” The actual tax figures were received by the district on Friday.

“Though it may seem a small amount, it’s definitely good news,” says Board of Education President Penny Swift. “The voters turned out in record numbers last May to show their commitment to our children’s education. It’s a pleasure to be able to tell them their cost will be less than expected.”

CARMEL — Carmel Schools tax rates are lower than those originally projected when the voters went to the polls last May. Tax rates that were projected to increase by an average of 0.12% actually experienced a decrease by an average of 14.47%.There are two factors leading to this change:1. The Board of Education used $500,000 of the fund balance to reduce taxes.2. Full value assessments increased by an average of 10%, which is more than twice the increase projected in May.The big story behind the increase in assessments comes from the Town of East Fishkill where a re-evaluation caused the total assessments to increase by 27.25% causing the tax rates in East Fishkill to decrease by almost 91%.A decrease in tax rates is only part of the equation for a tax bill with the other component being the individual property owner’s assessment. Although for many property owners a decrease in the tax rate will lead to a decrease in their actual tax bill, others, those with increases in their property assessments large enough to offset the decrease in tax rates, may experience an increase in their total tax bill.“By carefully controlling the budget process the Board of Education was able to keep the tax levy increase to only 4. “When that 4% increase is spread out over a 10% increase in total assessments the effect for most taxpayers is very positive,” said Interim Superintendent Ron Wilson. “Our thanks to the community for their continued support of the Carmel Schools. Our goal is to reward that support with tightly controlled budgets that minimize the impact on property taxes.”

Michael Trinchitella
Putnam County NY Real Estate