Marlboro adopts tax levy for 2019-2020

By Mark Reynolds
Posted 9/4/19

At the last Marlboro School Board meeting, the board unanimously authorized the tax levy for the 2019-20 school year that was approved by voters in May. Director of Business and Finance Patrick …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Marlboro adopts tax levy for 2019-2020

Posted

At the last Marlboro School Board meeting, the board unanimously authorized the tax levy for the 2019-20 school year that was approved by voters in May. Director of Business and Finance Patrick Witherow reviewed some of the revised calculations for the board. He said one reason for the revisions is because of the growth in the district over the last year, jumping from $1,210,850,967 to $1,264,699,606, a $53.8 million increase.

“So what happened is that we had growth in the district and we had equalization rates change,” he said. He said historically the assessment rates in Marlborough and Plattekill have been at 100% of market value but for the 2019-20 school year the rates dropped to 95% and 96%, respectively and the Town of Newburgh’s rate was lowered from 34% to 32.2%.

By way of example Witherow said last year if a house in Marlborough was at a $100,000 sale price, you were taxed at that amount. But this year, however, your house will be taxed at $95,000 because of the rate change. He said in order for the district to collect the same amount of money as they did last year, “you have to tax higher,” because of the lowered equalization rates.

“The tax rate growth has ranged from 5.5% to 7.3% but that doesn’t translate to a change in the tax bill,” he said. “You basically have a larger amount of value to tax, which results in an overall increase to the individual homeowner.”

Board President Frank Milazzo pointed out that Marlborough and Plattekill have always been assessed at 100% of market value but this is the first year this has not happened. Marlborough’s 95% figure actually equates to growth in value in the district to $43,416,281. Plattekill’s growth rate hit $2,140,617 and the Town of Newburgh came in at $8,291,741.

Witherow said residents in Marlborough with a home sale price of $200,000 will pay $4,748 in taxes, an increase of $32.78 from last year. On the higher end, at a $400,000 sale price, residents will pay $10,386 in taxes, an increase of $123.72 from last year.

In Plattekill, a home with a sale price of $200,000 will pay $4,741 in taxes, an increase of $26.66 from last year; on a $400,000 sale price, residents will pay $10,361 in taxes, a jump of $99.35 over last year.

In the Town of Newburgh, residents with a home sale price of $200,000 will pay $4,630 in taxes, a jump of $83.39 from last year and residents with a home with a $400,000 sale price will pay $10,269 in taxes, an increase of $175.41 above last year.

Witherow said the Basic Star exemption in Marlborough and Plattekill stayed the same as last year but in the Town of Newburgh, Basic Star was reduced.

Witherow added that, “this increase is lower than what we had anticipated because we used the variables from last year, the variables that we had.” He stressed that because of the number as well as the changes in the variables, “this is our best estimate” concerning the increase residents will see in their tax bills.