Waterville Central School District moved closer to a 2018-19 budget that contains a 3.14 percent tax hike and a few new academic offerings.
At last week’s WCS Board of Education meeting, board members said they heard no feedback regarding the size of the hike, which is the highest allowed by the state tax cap without requiring 60 percent of the vote. None of the three people in the audience spoke about the budget.
As of their meeting, the state’s budget had not been adopted, so the board set a workshop for Tuesday, April 10 to review the final numbers. The budget has to be adopted by their next meeting April 17.
Business administrator Tracy Leone said it appears Waterville will receive more state aid than originally thought. She recommended that the board keep the tax hike at 3.14 percent and use the additional funds to reduce how much is used in the district’s savings to offset the budget gap.
The spending plan of just over $18 million has about $600,000 more anticipated expenses than revenue. to reduce that, $102,000 will be used from debt reserves, emptying that account, and $280,000 from employment reserves. No fund balance - savings that can be used anywhere - has been factored in to close the gap.
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