Some towns will see tax rates go up, others will see a decrease
In late August, property owners in the Broadalbin-Perth Central School District will receive bills for the school taxes due for the 2016-17 school district. Under the budget approved by voters in May, the tax levy is slated to increase 1.9 percent to $14,188,423. However, because the total value of properties in the district increased over the past year, the district’s true-value tax rate will increase 1.7 percent. And, because of changes in equalization rates, some B-P residents will see a tax rate increase of up to 6.87 percent on their 2016 school tax bills, while others will see their tax rate decrease by as much as 78.74 percent.
The wide range of tax rate changes can primarily be attributed to a property revaluation in the Town of Providence. Although the town’s tax rate decreased significantly, properties in the town are now assessed at their full-market value – with an equalization rate, or uniform percentage of value, of 100. Therefore, property owners should not see a significant change in their total school tax bill compared with prior years.
The degree to which other towns’ tax rates vary from the district’s true-value tax rate of $18.30 can primarily be attributed to small changes in certain towns’ equalization rates. School Business Administrator Marco Zumbolo explains that, when equalization rates go up, tax rates tend to go down or show a smaller increase, and when equalization rates go down, tax rates tend to go up or show a larger increase compared to the district’s true-value tax rate.
“Other than assessment, equalization rate is the single biggest factor that affects taxes,” Zumbolo said. “Even a small change in equalization rate in one town can have a significant impact on the change in the tax rate in all nine towns in the district. Although we know it’s often frustrating to our residents, this is exactly why we can’t talk about tax rates in April, prior to the school budget vote.”
The following table shows the 2016-17 property tax rates for each town in the district:
| 2015-16 Tax Rates | 2016-17 Tax Rates | $ Change | % Change | |
| Broadalbin | $ 19.645 | $ 19.933 | $ 0.29 | 1.47% |
| Edinburg | 32.273 | 32.680 | 0.41 | 1.26% |
| Galway | 31.159 | 31.551 | 0.39 | 1.26% |
| Johnstown | 23.875 | 24.401 | 0.53 | 2.20% |
| Mayfield | 25.455 | 25.775 | 0.32 | 1.26% |
| Northampton | 25.819 | 25.776 | -0.04 | -0.17% |
| Amsterdam | 182.557 | 195.101 | 12.54 | 6.87% |
| Perth | 29.628 | 30.001 | 0.37 | 1.26% |
| Providence | 86.062 | 18.301 | -67.76 | -78.74% |
School bills will be mailed at the end of August. Residents who have questions about their school tax bill or school taxes in general are encouraged to contact Zumbolo at zumbolom@bpcsd.org or 954-2500.
Visit our Budget & Taxes page for more information on paying your school taxes.
