Chappaqua School Tax Rates to be Presented Tonight

The projected tax rates for the Chappaqua school district's proposed 2013-14 budget will be presented at tonight's school board meeting, according to the agenda.

The rates, which are dollar amounts per $1,000 of assessed property value, measure what taxpayers owe the school district for the budget. The tax rate is not the same thing as the tax levy, however; the levy is the amount of tax revenue to be raised. The levy is subject to an annual cap - it's the lesser of two percent or inflation - but the tax rate is not capped. This year's proposed budget goes above 2-percent mark but technically falls within the cap because of exemptions such as some pension costs and a tax base value change.

The tax rates, for now, are projections because they will not be finalized until the summer.

The tax rates in the district vary between its overlapping parts with New Castle and Mount Pleasant. In some previous years, Mount Pleasant residents ended up with considerably higher rates than their New Castle neighbors. The gap is due to a formula called the equalization rate, which is use to apportion what is owed in order to get the funds needed for the tax levy. The formula is used because towns do not assess the properties at the same level of market value. It is also used as a substitute for assessing properties at their full-market values.

The board meeting will also have a run through of a contigency budget, which would be adopted if voters reject the proposed budget after as many as two votes. If a contigency budget is adopted, then the tax levy cannot be raised at all from the previous school year.

The school board's public meeting starts at 8:15 p.m., at Horace Greeley High School. Click here for the agenda.