Penalty Problem Will Get Worse

The "pink slip" in the Rochester School tax notice told only part of the story and included questionable numbers.

The original FY 2008 budget voted on May 7 contained a penalty of about $16,000 because of an incorrect number for capital cost/pupil. The voters didn’t know this.

At the revote of the budget on June 18, 2007, the superintendent’s handout stated that the negative balance had increased from $138,000 to $155,000 and that the budget avoided a penalty.

If he had done his homework, he would have known that increasing the negative balance to $155,000 would have increased cost/pupil enough to go over the threshold. The combined penalties of these two mistakes was about $32,000. This was before the "pink slip."

The voters of Rochester voted twice, unknowingly, on budgets that had penalties because "mistakes were made."

On July 11, 2007 we got a "pink slip" informing us that because a technology grant was included in revenue, and shouldn’t have been, there would be a penalty.

Enclosed in the "pink slip" envelope was a computation by the tax department that showed the excess spending to be $344.35/pupil. That number, times 184.27 equalized pupils equals $63,453, not the $47,581 stated on the "pink slip."

That is not the end of the story. The tax department’s calculations are based on the negative balance of $138,000 instead of the correct number of $155,000—because no one bothered to inform the tax department of the change.

If and when the school officials decide to do the right thing and supply the tax department with the correct numbers, the total penalty for excess spending will be $79,726.25.

This may sound a little complex but it really isn’t. Several mistakes were made because of lack of vigilance, lack of oversight and not understanding Act 68’s formula.

Mickey Lary

Rochester

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