Pottstown School Board adopts zero tax hike for fifth straight year

POTTSTOWN — For the fifth straight year, the Pottstown School Board has adopted a budget that does not raise property taxes.

At the May 16 board meeting, the $84.8 million budget was adopted by a vote of 7-0. Board members Steve Kline and Deborah Spence were absent.

And while the 41.96 mill tax rate will remain the same for the fifth straight year, some tax bills may look a little different nonetheless.

During last year’s budget adoption, the board voted to deliver on its pledge to return money to taxpayers with some of the increased state aid the district received, and that was done by providing an $87 rebate to all property owners, which reached several thousand people.

However, that method provided no financial relief to renters.

This year, the board is taking a different approach with its tax relief, targeting low-income residents and renters by “piggybacking” onto an existing state program targeting that same group.

The district’s best estimates are that this relief will be enjoyed by just over 900 households. As a result, despite keeping the tax rate the same, those who received a rebate last year will not necessarily see one this year, resulting in an $87 increase in their bill over last year’s bill.

This year the state increased the income ceiling on the rebate program to $45,000 per household. It applies to those 65 or older, those who are 18 or older and are disabled, and widows or widowers over 50. Pottstown’s plan would add an additional 75 percent to the state’s amount.

So, for example, at the lower end of the scale, the state will provide up to $1,000 in tax relief to a household whose annual income is $8,000 or less and meets the other requirements. Pottstown’s plan would add another $750 to that relief.

At the upper end, a household meeting the other requirements that have an annual income of $45,000 or less, would receive $380 in relief from the state. Pottstown’s rebate program would add another $285 to that relief.

However, this is the only part of the budget that has not yet been adopted. Schools Superintendent Stephen Rodriguez said the district’s attorneys wanted more time to review the program so it is scheduled to be adopted as a separate resolution at the June 20 meeting.

Tax relief in the form of the state’s Homestead/Farmstead rebate program will be greater this year. Finance Director Maureen Oakley told the board that the state has increased this rebate by about $110, meaning the 3,364 homesteads registered with the district will receive a reduction of $670.55 off their tax bill.

The program is “revenue-neutral” to the district and the state funds are generated through gambling proceeds.

The gap between projected revenues of $84,777,136 and projected expenses of $84,814,772 is only $37,636, which will be filled by drawing from the district’s surplus, or “fund balance.” Overall, Pottstown has a surplus of $27.7 million, but much of it is assigned to things like paying for capital projects and increases in pension costs. The “unassigned fund balance,” however, stands at a healthy $6,394,253.

Oakley told the board that the budget, which only anticipates receiving half the amount outlined in Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget released in February, absorbs increased costs in healthcare and other insurance, as well as increased charter school tuition and special education costs.

The single largest cost, more than $52 million, is the cost of paying the district’s salaries and benefits.