Columbia School Board to consider 2.9% tax hike
The draft agenda for this Thursday's Columbia Borough School Board Committee of the Whole meeting includes the following item for consideration:
"The final budget includes a proposed tax increase in the total amount of .8508 mills or 2.90%, which is within Columbia Borough School District's approved index of 3.7%, and use of $800,000 ($250,000 is in Budgetary Reserve) of Fund Balance. The real estate tax rate for 2017-18 will be 30.1908 mills."
With the increase, the annual tax liability for an assessment of $100,000 will be $3,019.08. (The increase of .8508 mills translates to $85.08 a year for a $100,000 assessment.) At the current 29.34 mills, Columbia already has the highest school tax of any district in the county. The proposed increase will further cement that position.
With the increase, the TOTAL millage for Columbia Borough (county millage + municipal millage + school millage) will be 41.9258. The total annual tax liability for an assessment of $100,000 will be $4,192.58.
Current millage rates for Lancaster County are shown below.
With the increase, the TOTAL millage for Columbia Borough (county millage + municipal millage + school millage) will be 41.9258. The total annual tax liability for an assessment of $100,000 will be $4,192.58.
Current millage rates for Lancaster County are shown below.
Comments
What young couple will sign up to purchase a home here with taxes that will double their mortgage payment?
It's going to get tougher to unload properties here. In fact we are prisoners of Columbia. Pay the highest taxes around and like it. No way out unless the borough wants to help us like they helped the Biglers.
They must enjoy giving the borough and school district money to blow, otherwise they'd show up at meetings.
We need a government and school shut down right here, right now in this borough.
When will enough really be enough?
Needless to say, over $333/month school tax, for homes under $100,000 is utterly ridiculous.
Maybe we all need to slow down on rushing in to make that deadline for early payment discount. Make them wait.
A tax boycott of sorts would make the news and draw more attention to this situation.
There are a lot of reasons why Columbia has the tax problems we see. There are a lot of economic development projects we can and should do that will help. But at the end of the day, even if we would see our school taxes stabilize, we will never in a million years have the resources to provide to our kids the kinds of resources that are available to children at other schools. Personally, I think some of the millions blown by our neighbors is nothing less than crazy, but that's a whole different issue- it still stands that they CAN offer these things.
Merging is exponentially easier said than done, but it really may be our only option anymore. And looked at differently, the shared services agreement is at least a good first step, a conversation starter. I'd surprised if other districts don't follow suit. But again, lets focus on the real problem here: a school system that is broken, not a board or administration that is out to tax us into homelessness.
When you have a limited tax base like Columbia, your done. You can only bleed the people so long, and then there is no blood. We are at that point. The faster we merge the better. Or the state steps in. Either way, the damage may be done.
Thank you.
Check out the info after page 40 of the document. Interesting stuff. This was published in 2015. There hasn't been anything else since then.
It was announced that two banks have been selected to collect the payments. You will also be able to mail payments. It was explained that the workers at the DAC building have to "stop what they're doing" to take tax payments. How ridiculous is that? That's what they are there to do!
It will cost about $2,500. But it was explained down to $1,500.
I do not think this was on the agenda.
So when you pay that hefty tax bill this fall, if you choose to take it to the DAC building, please know you are interrupting their real work...Do not look for welcome there.