News
District sets final 2011-12 tax rates
Aug. 24, 2011
At its meeting on August 22, the Board of Education adopted 2011-12 tax rates for Rotterdam, Guilderland and Colonie, the three towns in the district.
The average homeowner in the town of Rotterdam will see their tax rate at $15.54 per $1,000 of assessed property value. Guilderland residents will see their tax rate at $18.03 per $1,000 of assessed property value, and Colonie residents’ tax rate is set at $23.03 per $1,000 of assessed property value.
The tax rates differ between the three towns because, as often is the case in school districts that span multiple municipalities, properties in different communities may be assessed at varying levels in relation to full market value. The state assigns each town an equalization rate in an effort to fairly apportion the share of taxes paid by each town. Equalization rates are set by the NYS Office of Real Property Tax Services in August each year.
Because of the uncertainty that surrounds final assessments and equalization rates until well after the budget vote, the district emphasizes the tax levy (versus the tax rate) in budget meetings and informational materials leading up to the vote. The levy is the figure the district controls, and is the true indicator of how much the district is increasing taxes from year-to-year.
The $42.9 million budget voters approved in May carried with it a 2.5 percent increase in the tax levy. That has not changed.
Estimated tax rates are often the first item residents ask about after the Board of Education adopts a budget for voter consideration. District officials project these rates based upon the prior year’s assessed values and equalization rates—the best and only information it can use at that time to estimate changes to the tax rate. Projected tax rates at the time of the budget vote were $15.57 per $1,000 for Rotterdam, $18.30 per $1,000 for Guilderland and $23.24 per $1,000 for Colonie.
Under the final tax rates set by the board on Monday, the owner of a property assessed at $150,000 in Rotterdam will see a school tax bill increase of about $53.10. For Guilderland, the owner of a property assessed at $150,000 would see a tax increase of $26.40 and the owner of a property assessed at $150,000 in Colonie will see a tax increase of $53.85. These calculations do not take into consideration the state’s school tax relief program (STAR) or other exemptions taxpayers may receive.
