Local Taxes and How They are Determined*
• The School District
• The County Tax
• The Town Tax
• Town Highway Tax
• Fire District Tax
The School District
A school district is supervised by a paid administrator called the Superintendent of Schools, who reports to a publicly-elected several-member Board of Education. The Board is headed by a Board of Education president. Members of the Board are generally elected each year, on a revolving basis, for a three-year term in an election conducted in May of each year. All residents of the school district’s boundaries (whether or not registered voters in Board of Election records) who are 18 or older are allowed to vote in the School Board election.
Each year in the spring, the School Board, working with the school district’s administrators, prepares a draft budget for the coming school year. The School Board conducts public hearings to discuss the proposed budget and to make spending adjustments as needed. These public hearings provide an opportunity for various constituents such as parents, student groups, and taxpayers to discuss academic, after-school, capital and other expenditures and to express their concerns. The proposed budget also includes estimated revenues from state educational aid. Once the public hearings have been conducted and the School Board has agreed upon a proposed budget, the proposed budget is presented to voters in a budget vote. In this budget vote, which is conducted in May, voters can either accept or reject the proposed budget.
If the proposed budget is approved by voters, it becomes the school district's budget for the following academic year. If the proposed budget is rejected, there is a further budget review process, including at least one public hearing, and a budget re-vote. If the budget is approved in the re-vote, the second budget becomes the school district's budget for the coming year. If the budget is rejected in the re-vote, the school district is obliged to adopt an "austerity" budget that contains statutory maximum increases from the prior year. Either through voters' approval of a proposed budget, or through a default "austerity" budget, a budget for the following academic year is thus adopted.
Once the budget is adopted, the total amount of state and other aid and revenue sources is deducted from the full approved budget amount and the total tax levy is determined. The tax levy, due in September, is the amount that is to be paid by taxpayers.
The School Budget is one of the few budgets that property owners have the right to vote on directly. Participating in the hearing process and voting in the school budget gives residents the opportunity to have a direct say in the amount of taxes paid for our region's schools. Voting by absentee ballot is permitted for all school district elections and budget votes for those who are unable to vote in person.
The County administers and pays for social services (about 40% of the county budget), funds part of the community college, county highways, Sheriff’s Office, jail and probation, the County Resource Recovery Agency, the county clerk and DMV office, general administrative services, the County Development Corp., rural transportation, and debt service.
The budget process for the County is similar to that of other taxing authorities. A draft budget is drawn up by the County governing body - a county legislature, for example, in consultation with county administrators and department heads in a hearing process that is open to the public. Assumptions on revenues such as state aid, sales tax, cellular telephone user fees, user fees, interest and investment income, etc. are also included in the budget process. The County governance then votes on the budget, frequently making last-minute amendments. Once the budget is approved and non-property tax revenue assumptions are applied, the County tax levy is determined. This is the amount that is paid by property owners within the County. The County tax is due in January, the first month of the County’s fiscal year, and is collected by the tax collector in each municipality.
Each Town imposes its own tax levy on people who own property within the township. The Town pays for certain local services such as social services, youth programs, and transfer station as well as the cost of town employees including the supervisor and town board, town clerk, town justices, and building inspector.
The day-to-day administration of the Towns is conducted by the Town Supervisor, who also serves as the Town’s budget officer, under authority granted each year by the Town Board. The Town Supervisor does not have inherent executive powers other than those granted through resolutions by the Town Board. Two Town Board members are elected every two years for four-year terms. There are a total of four Town Board members (plus the Supervisor). The Supervisor is elected every two years for a two-year term. All persons registered to vote in the township are eligible to vote for the Supervisor and Town Board members in person or by absentee ballot in the November election.
The Towns' budget process is similar to that of other taxing authorities and the process is conducted under the auspices of New York’s Town Law. In October, each Town Board conducts public hearings and meets with department heads to determine financial requirements for the following calendar year. The budget process also takes into consideration non-property tax revenue sources such as state aid, user fees, etc. A draft budget is adopted and voted on by Town Board members at a public meeting. The budget often also includes grants to several non-profit volunteer emergency, community service, and recreational organizations.
Once the budget is adopted by the Town Board, the amount of expenditures, less any non-taxpayer revenues, becomes the amount that is levied as the Town Tax. The Town Tax is due in January, the first month of the fiscal year, and is collected by the tax collector.
In addition to the Town Tax, there is a Town Highway Tax. Revenues collected from this tax are used for road maintenance, including snow removal and roadside tree trimming, equipment procurement and maintenance, and capital improvements.
The Highway district is operated under the direction of the Towns’ Highway Superintendent, under the fiscal supervision of the Town Board. The budget is proposed by the Highway Superintendent. The Highway Superintendent is elected every other November for a two-year term. All persons registered to vote are eligible to vote for the Highway Superintendent in person or by absentee ballot if the voter is unable to vote in person.
The Highway Superintendent works with the Town Board to finalize a budget for the coming fiscal year. Revenues such as State and Federal aid are projected and the amount not covered by outside sources is passed to property owners as the Town Highway Tax.
Each Fire District operates volunteer fire companies, which provide fire fighting and rescue services to the Towns and, under certain circumstances, to neighboring communities under mutual aid agreements. The fire district tax pays for company equipment, training and other personnel costs. The fire district operates under the direction of the Board of Fire Commissioners, which consists of five members. One member of the Board of Fire Commissioners is elected every December for a five-year term.
In October, the members of the Board of Fire Commissioners prepare a budget for the following fiscal year. The amount of the adopted budget, less other sources of income, becomes the fire district tax levy for the following year. Taxes are collected by the Town Tax Collector in January, the first month of the Fire District’s fiscal year. All voters registered to vote within the Fire District are allowed to vote in person to elect Fire Commissioners, but the Board of Fire Commissioners, which administers the election, does not permit people who are not able to vote in person to vote by absentee ballot.
* Based on material prepared by the Rochester (Ulster County) Residents Association.