TAMAQUA - Taxpayers in the Tamaqua Area School District will see an increase in school property taxes next year.
The board of education approved June 17 the district's 2014-15 budget, which includes a 0.93 mill hike in the tax rate.
The vote to approve the fiscal blueprint was not a unanimous one.
At a workshop meeting one week before the proposed final budget was put to a vote, board President Larry Wittig told his fellow directors not to expect an affirmative vote from him when it came time to approve a budgeted tax increase.
He stood by his word.
The budget, complete with the tax increase, was approved 5-3, with directors Robert Betz and Eileen Meiser joining Wittig with opposing votes.
Voting in favor were directors Bryan Miller, Mark Rother, Daniel Schoener, Aaron Frantz and Wanda Zuber.
In addition to the tax hike, the budget will use nearly half of the district's $5 million fund balance to cover a deficit of $2,244,055.
Prior to budget approval, the fund balance stood at $5,029,505. With budget approval, the fund balance stands at $2,785,450.
District Business Manager Connie Ligenza said the 0.93 mill tax increase would add about $37 to the average property owner's tax bill, assuming the average home is valued at roughly $40,000.
The real estate tax is levied on half a property's assessed value. Each mill equals $1 for every $1,000 of half the assessed value.
The hike is expected to generate an additional $274,000 in district revenues.
Wittig said he opposed the tax increase because it will not resolve the biggest financial problem facing every public school district in Pennsylvania - the escalating cost of state-defined mandatory payments to the Public School Employees Retirement System.
According to the PSERS schedule, public school districts were required to contribute an amount equal to 16 percent of employees' salaries in the 2013-14 school year.
Next year, the mandatory contribution increases to 21 percent of employees' salaries. In the 2015-16 school term, the contribution rises to 24 percent. And the following year, the mandatory contribution is 29 percent.
"This tax increase isn't going to solve anything," Wittig said.
The approved budget anticipates revenue of $26,450,073 and expenses of $28,694,128 for a shortfall of $2,244,055, which will be balanced with the tax increase and the fund balance.
The real estate tax will be set at 34.29 mills.
The per capita Section 679 and Act 511 taxes are $5 each.
The earned income and real estate transfer taxes are 1 percent each, both shared with the municipality.
The EMS tax is $5 (shared with municipality) and the assessed occupation tax is $225.