Superintendent’s BOE Request Equals 2.7% Tax Increase

Here’s how it works.

The request is $1,814,810 over last year’s BOE Budget.

As reported by Town Finance Director Ray Jankowski, today’s value of 1 mill is $2,997,190.

$1,814,810 (the recommended increase) divided by $2,997,190 (the value of a mill) equals .6055038

The current mill rate is 22.52

.6055038 divided by 22.52 equals .0268873 or a tax increase of 2.68873%

This calculation assumes that revenues stay flat. Of course, given the state of the economy, it is almost a certainty that revenues will be down.

There’s another way to do this calculation: The current grand list is $2,932,492,514. The total amount to be raised by taxes is $66,042,266. $66,042,266 divided by $2,932,492,514 equals .0225208643. This multiplied by 1000 equals our current mill rate of 22.52

The sum of the Superintendent’s recommended increase ($1,814,810) and the amount to be raised by taxes ($66,042,266) is $67,857,076. This divided by $2,932,492,514 (the current grand list) equals .0231397269. This multiplied by 1000 equals the new mill rate of 23.14. This minus the old mill rate of 22.52 equals a mill rate increase of .62. This divided by the current mill rate of 22.52 equals .027531 or a tax increase of 2.7531% . Note that the tax increase reached in the first method is slightly different from this result due to the number of places to which I did the arithmetic.

What’s the point of all this? The point is that BOE Members have to look very carefully at the impact of its Budget on New Milford’s taxpayers. I posted this because I don’t know if any of them have asked the question. They should. If they do, I want to make sure they get the have the right answer.

Lost Hikers Identified

Deputy Sheriff T. J. Hanlon of the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office released the names of the two New Milford hikers who got lost on the Appalachian Trail last Saturday: 17 year-0ld Suzanne Freda and 20 year-old Vincent Palmesi.

Lisa Diamond Resigns From BOE

Dr. Lisa Diamond has resigned from the Board of Education, effective February 1, 2010.

Section 205 of the Charter provides that the vacancy "shall be filled within sixty (60) days of such vacancy by appointment, by the Town Council, for the unexpired portion of the term or until the next regular Town election...whichever shall first occur."

The appointee must be a Democrat.