School Budget Passes With 1.9 Percent Tax Levy Increase

The $208 million Toms River schools budget for 2013-14, which calls for a 1.9 percent tax levy increase over the previous spending plan, passed a vote Thursday night while facing opposition from two Board of Education members. 

Ginny Rhine and Alex Pavliv, the two board members who voted against the preliminary budget earlier in March, again cast 'no' votes. They both said that more surplus should have been used, rather than applying a health care cap waiver, and Pavliv said that it was "irresponsible" to approve the plan before mid-April when Superstorm Sandy's impact on ratables is known. 

Township officials have said that Sandy caused a loss of about 20 percent of Toms River's ratables base. Though he called the budget preparation by administrators "excellent," Pavliv said that the storm's devastation could be ongoing if residents decide to walk away from their damaged properties. 

"I think it's irresponsible at this point to vote yes," Pavliv said. 

Members Thomas Baxter and Michael Jedziniak were absent and did not vote. The remaining five board members voted to approve the budget.

The budget calls for $141,838,236 to be raised by local property taxes — an increase of 1.9 percent over 2012-13. The total property tax levy increase is 1.9 percent, or $2,712,794, which includes the general fund and debt service.

The district is $1.87 million under the 2 percent tax levy cap. It won't be known until the county certifies the new, post-Sandy ratables base what the tax impact to residents will be. 

"I believe it would be irresponsible for the Board of Education to adopt and approve a budget that doesn't know the exact particulars of the revenue," said resident Dennis Galante during the public hearing before the vote. "I think you need to wait to find out exactly what your revenue is."

Galante suggested that the board delay a vote until those figures are known in mid-April, but administrators said that was not a possibility. 

"What is the impact under the certified ratables bases? That part is not under our control," said district Business Administrator William Doering. 

The county would tell the district that they are responsible for providing a "thorough" education, Doering said.

"That's what this board is doing and we're doing it under the state-mandated cap," Doering said. He also noted that the county superintendent did not request any changes to the budget after it was submitted earlier in March following a board approval. 

2013-14 school budget figures

"We believe that we have put together a fiscally sound budget, one that provides for the means of the district while being conscious of the cost to the taxpayer, especially in light of the times and recent events," Doering said during a budget presentation earlier in March before the preliminary approval vote. 

The district will put $1.5 million of its fund balance surplus toward revenue. Taking the health benefits cap waiver will allow the surplus to remain slightly above $2 million, a figure with which administrators are comfortable. 

The district is expecting $4.3 million in restitution from the Michael Ritacco case; if not all of that can be paid, insurance is expected to cover over $2 million, according to officials. Though unclear when it will be paid, having that money incoming made the decision to use some surplus funds easier to handle, Doering during the preliminary budget approval meeting.

Based on the prior year average property assessments — and not yet factoring in the expected ratable base change which likely will be certified by the county in mid-April, the impact of the tax levy increase is:

"We do not yet know the actual ratable base figures at this time, therefore, these figures do not factor in the final ratable base numbers," reads a line from the district's budget presentation regarding the above figures. 

Toms River officials have said that the township's ratables base may have lost 20 percent because of damage caused by Sandy, which may impact the distribution of school taxes among it and Beachwood, Pine Beach and South Toms River. 

Local property taxes make up over $135.6 million, of 65.1 percent, of the budget's revenues. The district will receive a total of $67,712,061 in aid, a 0.6 percent increase over the 2012-13 aid amount, according to the state.

Even with an aid increase of $433,802 for 2013-14, the district is still receiving $4.2 million less than it did five years ago, according to Doering. Greater aid for the upcoming budget year would have been welcomed by administrators, especially given the devastation of Sandy.

The district is now $43 million below its adequacy level — the amount of money the projected to run a school system of its size, according to Doering. That amount last year was $34 million. 

Of the $3.984 million expenditures increase over last year, most of that is made up of a $3.1 million increase in employee benefits, officials have said. But the district also receives revenues from things like its solar project, which provides annual electricity savings.