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Press release of August 28, 2012
Average increase
of 1.96 percent
BH-BL school tax
bills to go out August 30
BURNT HILLS: The Burnt
Hills-Ballston Lake school district has received
final tax equalization rates for the towns of
Ballston, Charlton, Glenville and Clifton Park, and
school tax bills are ready to be mailed to property
owners on August 30.
The total
tax levy is the same amount as was projected last
May, but increased property assessments in the
district's four towns mean that tax rates need to
increase slightly less than had been projected to
generate the same number of tax dollars.
On
August 7, BH-BL Board of Education members formally
approved a total tax levy of $35,085,477. This is
the the identical amount as was projected at the
time of the school budget vote in May.
The levy includes $4,816,828 in taxes
that will be paid by the state under the STAR
program. The overall 2012-13 school budget is
$56,912,454.
Tax rate changes for each town
School tax rates are increasing by 1.96 percent on average across the
district's four
towns. This is a weighted average that takes into consideration the fact
that Ballston and Glenville make up much larger
portions of the school district than Charlton and
Clifton Park.
Tax
rate changes are different for each town based on
equalization rates set by the NY Office
of Real Property Tax Services (ORPTS). ORPTS is the state
agency that calculates equalization rates each
year in an effort to spread the tax burden across a
school district from town to town as fairly as possible.
Ballston's equalization rate grew by four percent
this summer, and Glenville's grew by one percent
while equalization rates for Charlton and Clifton
Park stayed the same.
"Each year
changes in the state-supplied equalization rates
cause the tax burden to shift a bit across our four
towns," explains assistant superintendent
Jacqueline St. Onge. "This fall our town of
Ballston residents will actually see a small tax
rate decrease. In 2010 it was our Glenville
residents who had the lowest tax rate increase,
while in 2009 it was our Clifton Park residents who
benefited. These shifts tend to
even out over time."
Differences among the four towns reflect the amount of
new construction in each town, the rise or fall in
property values there, any assessment reductions, and how close assessed values
are to full market value — in the estimation of ORPTS.
Specifically, BH-BL school
tax RATES are decreasing by 0.29% percent in
Ballston, increasing by 2.74 percent in Glenville, and
increasing by 3.87 percent in both Charlton and Clifton Park.
Specific numbers
for each town are shown in the following chart. Tax
rates are rounded to the nearest whole penny.
|
Town |
Tax Rate per Thousand Dollars
of Assessed Value |
Percent
Change |
|
2011 |
2012 |
| Ballston |
$20.10 |
$20.05 |
-
0.29% |
| Charlton |
$27.57 |
$28.64 |
3.87% |
| Clifton Park |
$33.28 |
$34.56 |
3.87% |
| Glenville |
$21.21 |
$21.79 |
2.74% |
|
Weighted District
Average |
1.96% |
Overall assessed property values grew in all four
towns. From
2011 to 2012, total assessed property values in the
BH-BL portions of the towns grew by $2.8 million in
Ballston, by $2.4 million in Charlton, by $192,183 in Clifton Park, and by
$638,053 in Glenville.
Based on assessed property values, the town of
Glenville makes up 38 percent of the BH-BL school
district, while Ballston is 36 percent, Charlton is 20
percent,
and Clifton Park is only 6 percent. Total assessed value of
all property in the district is $1.5 billion.
Payment details
BH-BL school tax
bills will be mailed out on August 30. Payment
checks should be made
out to "BH-BL Schools."
Payments can be
made by mail to the Receiver of
Taxes, BH-BL Schools, 50 Cypress Drive, Glenville,
NY 12302. Credit card or partial payments of taxes
cannot be accepted.
Important:
Monday, October 1, will be the final day that
payments can be accepted without incurring a
penalty.
On selected days from
September 4 to Oct. 1, residents who wish to pay their tax bills
in person may do so at the First New York Federal Credit
Union at 19 Glenridge Road, Glenville, across from
the Glenville town library. See details below.
From September
4 – 20,
the credit union will be accepting tax payments ONLY on Tuesdays
and Thursdays from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
From September 24 –
October 1, the
credit union will accept in-person tax payments any day
except Sunday during its regular banking hours,
which are printed on the tax bill.
To avoid penalties, tax bills must be paid or
postmarked no later than October 1. Bills paid from October
2 through
October 31 incur a two percent penalty. After
October 31, the school district can no longer accept
tax payments. Under the law, uncollected bills are
turned over to the counties for collection at that
time.
For those interested in more information:
The school district determines only the total tax
levy. It plays no role in determining how much of
the levy is paid by any one town or any one
landowner.
(See
BH-BL Tax Bills Timeline for more
information on who decides what when in the annual
school tax process.)
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