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Letter: Putnam Valley Taxpayers Will See School Tax Reduction

PUTNAM VALLEY, N.Y. -- The Putnam Daily Voice accepts signed and original letters to the editor up to 350 words. To submit your letter, email putnam@dailyvoice.com.

Send your letters to the editor to putnam@dailyvoice.com.

Send your letters to the editor to putnam@dailyvoice.com.

Photo Credit: Jen Paluzzi

To the editor:

With the increased state aid the Putnam Valley Central School District revised the 2016-17 proposed budget reducing the tax levy by $100,000 from $35,944,964 in 2015-16 to $35,844,964. That means that over the past two years the residents of Putnam valley's tax burden for the school budget will be reduced by $281,000, from $181,000 in 2015-16 to $100,000 2016-17. 

The total 2016-17 proposed school budget of $47,943,262 has been reduced by $32,657 compared to last year. 

This is great news for the taxpayers but what still concerns me is how much of the surplus from this year’s budget, approximately $1.4 million, will be returned to the undistributed reserve account and how much of it will be placed in the Capital Improvement Reserve account, if my efforts to overturn the Dec. 8 referendum vote fails via a petition filed with the commissioner of the State Education Department? After all, the entire surplus and all of the reserve accounts are still our tax dollars paid in good faith that the school is entrusted. 

The school district has said in its talking points from April 7 "Current Years’ Surplus: In 2015-16 forecasting that there will be a surplus that will enable the District to reflect another decrease in the tax Levy."  We the residents and taxpayers of Putnam Valley must hold them to that point. A budget newsletter is being prepared and mailed; the updated budget prepared April 8 is available online at the school district website. The budget vote along with a vote for two board members will be May 17, 2016, are you registered to vote? Need an absentee ballot? Contact the District Clerk at 845-528-8143. 

Dan Vera

Putnam Valley's Taxpayer Advocate

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