By Josh O’Gorman
STAFF WRITER | January 11,2014
Rutland Herald
KILLINGTON — As it stands, the proposed town budget would add half a penny to the residential tax rate.
In December, the Select Board reviewed a draft budget of $4,055,447 for 2014. That proposal would have added nearly 9/10 of a cent to the current residential tax rate of 28.9 cents.
At that meeting, the board instructed Town Manager Seth Webb to make changes to the budget — either increase revenue, decrease expenses or some combination of the two — to reduce the increase in the residential tax rate.
Interestingly enough, the new draft of the budget — reviewed by the board during a regular meeting Tuesday night — sees an increase in expenses, but an even greater increase in revenue.
Unlike most municipalities, Killington operates on a calendar year rather than a fiscal year from July 1 through June 30. At Tuesday’s meeting, Webb shared final numbers for 2013, which showed, in some areas, higher-than-projected revenue numbers.
For example, the town collected $2.5 million in property taxes, which was more than the $2.3 million projected. The extra money came from collections on delinquent taxes. Also, the 1 percent option tax helped generate approximately $200,000 more in nonproperty tax revenue than projected.
Overall, the town collected 99 percent of projected revenue, even as it has yet to collect $413,000 in flood-recovery money from Tropical Storm Irene. The town will receive that money in 2014, and will use it to defray the increase in the residential tax rate.
On the other side of the books, final numbers from 2013 showed $109,019 remaining in the expense budget. That money will be applied to the proposed budget is another factor in reducing the increase in the residential tax rate.
The latest draft expense budget of $4,074,123 is an increase of $343,408, or 9 percent, compared to the current expense budget of $3,730,715. It’s also approximately $20,000 more than was proposed in the previous draft budget in December. The additional money has been added for capital improvements for roads and bridges.
So, to translate all of this for the homeowner looking for the bottom line, under the latest draft budget, a resident with a home valued at $300,000 would see an increase in property taxes of $15.
The board is expected to ratify the budget at its next meeting, set to begin at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 21 at the Town Offices on River Road. For more on the 2014 budget, visit www.killingtontown.com.
josh.ogorman @rutlandherald.com
In December, the Select Board reviewed a draft budget of $4,055,447 for 2014. That proposal would have added nearly 9/10 of a cent to the current residential tax rate of 28.9 cents.
At that meeting, the board instructed Town Manager Seth Webb to make changes to the budget — either increase revenue, decrease expenses or some combination of the two — to reduce the increase in the residential tax rate.
Interestingly enough, the new draft of the budget — reviewed by the board during a regular meeting Tuesday night — sees an increase in expenses, but an even greater increase in revenue.
Unlike most municipalities, Killington operates on a calendar year rather than a fiscal year from July 1 through June 30. At Tuesday’s meeting, Webb shared final numbers for 2013, which showed, in some areas, higher-than-projected revenue numbers.
For example, the town collected $2.5 million in property taxes, which was more than the $2.3 million projected. The extra money came from collections on delinquent taxes. Also, the 1 percent option tax helped generate approximately $200,000 more in nonproperty tax revenue than projected.
Overall, the town collected 99 percent of projected revenue, even as it has yet to collect $413,000 in flood-recovery money from Tropical Storm Irene. The town will receive that money in 2014, and will use it to defray the increase in the residential tax rate.
On the other side of the books, final numbers from 2013 showed $109,019 remaining in the expense budget. That money will be applied to the proposed budget is another factor in reducing the increase in the residential tax rate.
The latest draft expense budget of $4,074,123 is an increase of $343,408, or 9 percent, compared to the current expense budget of $3,730,715. It’s also approximately $20,000 more than was proposed in the previous draft budget in December. The additional money has been added for capital improvements for roads and bridges.
So, to translate all of this for the homeowner looking for the bottom line, under the latest draft budget, a resident with a home valued at $300,000 would see an increase in property taxes of $15.
The board is expected to ratify the budget at its next meeting, set to begin at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 21 at the Town Offices on River Road. For more on the 2014 budget, visit www.killingtontown.com.
josh.ogorman @rutlandherald.com
No comments:
Post a Comment