Cameron County school board fails to pass millage rate Thursday
EMPORIUM — The Cameron County School District Board of Directors was unable to pass a tax millage rate during their regular meeting held on Thursday evening.
Despite voting four times on various rates, the board was unable to come to a consensus.
Only seven members were present for the meeting, with members Shannon Zuback-Penfield and Robert Lininger absent. A majority of five votes was still needed to pass all measures, which became an obstacle to establishing this year’s millage rate.
At last month’s meeting, the board voted against increasing the millage rate to the maximum allowable amount of 43.134. The board did vote to assign all but $1.2 million of the $3.1 million held in the reserve fund in order to raise taxes.
During the first vote on Thursday night, a motion was made to establish this year’s rate at 43.13 mills. However, three members — David McManigle, Sandy Shields and Marilyn Erickson — voted against the measure.
The budget, which passed earlier in the meeting, was balanced on a 43.13 millage rate, though it also included the $370,000 in increased revenue proposed by Gov. Tom Wolf that has not been accepted by the legislature at this point. The budget was accepted at $11,855,531, with members Shields and Erickson voting against it due to their belief that additional cuts should be made.
At 43.13 mills, the average resident would have paid approximately $20.79 in additional real estate taxes annually.
A second vote was then taken to set the rate at the 42 mills levied last year, as proposed by Shields. Members Annetta Horning, Kristine Umble, Jan Hampton and President Paul Abriatis voted against that rate.
Hampton then proposed a rate of 43 mills, which was voted down by McManigle, Shields and Erickson.
A fourth vote was taken on a proposal by Umble for a rate of 42.75 mills, with McManigle, Shields and Erickson again voting against it.
Having reached an obvious impasse, members decided to move on to other business and hold a meeting next week when all nine members could be present in an attempt to get a majority vote on a millage rate. The meeting will be mandatory, and has been tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
Board Secretary Carl Mitchell stated that a millage rate must be established, and tax bills that were to be printed and mailed beginning Friday would now be delayed.
The board was able to adopt several resolutions regarding earned income tax, realty transfer tax and per capita levies, which remain the same as they have in past years.
Earned Income Tax Resolution 1 imposes a tax of 1 percent on the earned income of residents of the school district, and is expected to generate $340,000 in revenue.
The Realty Transfer Tax Resolution imposes a tax of 1 percent on certain enumerated transfers of real estate within the county, and is expected to produce $40,000 this fiscal year.
A per capita tax of $10 will be levied upon each resident of the school district, expected to produce $11,000 in revenue for the district. An additional $11,000 will be generated, but goes to the municipality of residence of the payer.
A second per capita tax of $5 per resident will be levied, which will also generate an expected $11,000.
The next regular meeting of the Cameron County School Board is scheduled for 7 p.m. July 16, but a meeting will have to be scheduled prior to June 30 in order to set a millage rate. That meeting date must be advertised in a local newspaper according to law.
