Due to an unexpected shift in the tax burden between commercial and residential properties, as determined by the NYS Office of Real Property Services (ORPS), the North Colonie Board of Education decided at its August 28, 2006, meeting to appropriate some of its fund balance and identify some additional revenues to lower the tax levy and resulting increase in the 2006-07 tax rate for property owners.

The board voted to use $1 million more than budgeted out of its unreserved fund balance — which totaled $3.2 million out of the $7 million in the fund balance — and to increase its anticipated revenues for interest income and state aid by $500,000 and $200,000, respectively, in order to decrease the amount of the tax levy, i.e., the total amount of taxes the district must collect from all property owners. 

Following that decision, the board set the 2006-07 tax rate for North Colonie at $19.27 per $1,000 of assessed residential property value. The board set the 2006-07 tax rate for North Colonie at $20.36 per $1,000 of assessed commercial property value. This rate represents an increase of 7.78 percent for residential property owners and a decrease of 1.72 for commercial property owners. For a home assessed at $200,000, a Colonie homeowner would pay an additional $66 per year for 2006-07.

“Base proportions set by ORPS are driving this unexpected increase,” said Assistant Superintendent for Business Thomas Rybaltowski. “ORPS uses base proportions to determine how the tax burden is distributed between residential and commercial properties in the town. Changes in the base proportion do not change the overall district tax levy but instead change how much of the tax levy is paid by homeowners and how much is paid by owners of commercial properties,” added Rybaltowski.

At budget vote time, based on the base proportions from 2005-06, the district estimated a 5.94 percent tax increase for homestead (residential) properties and a 5.96 percent tax increase for non-homestead (commercial) properties. 

When the district received the official 2006-07 base proportions from ORPS in mid-August, the percent of the total tax levy to be collected from residential properties increased from 56 to 59 percent, while the percentage of the total tax levy to be collected from commercial properties decreased from 44 to 41 percent.

“The base proportions are something over which school districts have no control,” Rybaltowski explains. “This shift in the tax burden directly affects the district and its taxpayers, but it is something that we do not establish ourselves.”

“Appropriating additional funds to mitigate this unforeseen increase in the tax rate while still protecting programs for students is an appropriate use of the fund balance,” said Superintendent of Schools Randy Ehrenberg. “The district wants to look at both short-term and long-term stability. We are focused on the future in terms of maintaining our fiscal management, and we are committed to providing a sound education for our students. It’s a difficult balancing act,” said Ehrenberg.

North Colonie Central School District 
Comparison of Advertised Vs. Actual Homestead Tax Rate Changes
1997-98 to 2006-07