News

May 6, 2008

Prelim plan for Dallas has 9-mill tax hike

By Mark Guydish mguydish@timesleader.com
Education Reporter
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DALLAS TWP. – Dallas School Board gave preliminary approval Monday night to a $28.3 million budget with a nine-mill tax increase for next school year.

The board also heard from four companies looking to do a “construction review” of plans for the new high school, at an estimated cost between $25,000 and $50,000.

Business manager Grant Palfey went over the budget, which will climb from $27.3 million this year and boost the property tax rate to 262 mills.

A mill is a $1 tax for every $1,000 of assessed property value. Palfey said the 3.5 percent increase would raise the average property owner’s taxes by about $49, to $1,385.

Palfey noted that doesn’t include the long-anticipated property tax relief for homeowners, provided through legalized gambling, which should save approved homeowners $54.

The current budget also doesn’t consider a complication that could arise in the teacher retirement fund. Palfey noted the agency that runs the fund officially reduced the rate the district must pay – calculated as a percent of teacher salaries – from 7.13 percent this year to 4.76 percent next year. But the state Legislature is considering a bill that would force districts to keep the higher rate, in an effort to avoid a steeper increase later.

Palfey said the budget uses the lower rate, and that if the law is passed and the rate increased, it would require the equivalent of nearly three mills in taxes.

The total spent on salaries will shoot up from about $11.9 million to $13.3 million. Palfey said that’s the result of several new hires, including technology coordinator Bill Gartrell, who had been working as a consultant but was hired last month full-time at a starting salary of $82,000.

Other hirings included bus drivers, as the district took some transportation in-house, which Palfey said will bring an overall savings of about $150,000.

By law, the budget must be publicly available at the district office for 30 days before the board can give final approval, which must be done by June 30.

The board began the meeting with brief presentations from four firms seeking a contract for a “construction review” of high school plans. The school is expected to cost about $43 million, and the board is considering having a company scrutinize architect and engineer plans once they are nearly complete to see if there are errors or potential savings the architects miss.

The companies didn’t discuss the cost of their work, but buildings and grounds supervisor Mark Kraynak said the proposals ranged from about $25,000 to $50,000. Most companies said they could definitely save the district money by finding errors in the plans.

Mark Guydish, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7161

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