Plumsted officials working on school budget review

PLUMSTED - Administrators from the Plumsted school district informed municipal officials on May 2 that the school district had received $822,000 in federal impact aid just prior to a March 28 public hearing and adoption of the 2007-08 school budget.

With voters rejecting three separate tax questions totaling $634,446 in the April 17 school election, Township Committee member and Plumsted Board of Education representatives will discuss and explore all options regarding the potential uses of the $822,000 received from the federal government, according to Mayor Ron Dancer.

Dancer said township, school, state and federal officials continually lobby and work together for additional aid and, now knowing of the receipt of the $822,000 in federal impact aid, it at least provides a welcomed source of revenue (not from local property taxes) for discussion.

Dancer said he and the other members of the Township Committee are very appreciative of the input received from residents since the April 17 school vote. Now, with the public learning of the receipt of the $822,000 in federal impact aid, the committee members are continuing to encourage residents to provide them with suggestions and comments as they hold discussions with school district representatives.

The next meeting of the Township Committee will be with the Board of Education on May 14 in the New Egypt High School auditorium at 7:30 pm. regarding the defeated school tax questions. The committee members will not make any decisions at this meeting, rather, they want to provide an opportunity to personally hear from all residents (those who voted yes or no), Dancer said.

The earliest date the committee could announce a decision on the school budget questions, prior to the statutory deadline of May 21, would be at the school board's publicly advertised meeting of May 16. In the event a decision is not made on May 16, a special public meeting could be scheduled by the committee for May 19 at 10 a.m., prior to the 11 a.m. start of New Egypt Day festivities on Main Street.

In other news, Dancer said the Township Committee adopted a $3.7 million municipal budget for 2007 on May 2 following a public hearing and approval by the state Division of Local Govern-ment Services. Spending in this year's budget is about $100,000 less than last year with reductions in operational and capital expenses offsetting salary increases.

The municipal tax rate was lowered from 12 to 9 cents per $100 of assessed valuation due to a property revaluation. The total amount of taxes to be collected, including the reserve for uncollected taxes, increased from $505,000 to $985,000 with less available surplus used. For a home assessed at $386,000, the new township average, the municipal portion of a property owner's tax bill would be $347 a year, an increase of $167, according to the mayor.