Budget Presented in Baldwin-Whitehall Shows Millage Decrease

The Baldwin-Whitehall School Board has not raised the millage rate for the B-W School District since the 2006-07 school year, and that trend is all but certain to continue for 2013-14.

Mark R. Cherpak, business manager for the district, presented a preliminary budget to school board members during their most recent meeting, and Cherpak's budget shows a proposed rate of 19.21 mills for next school year—down from 23.40 in both 2011-12 and 2012-13.

However, due to a recent countywide real estate reassessment that has raised the value of most Baldwin-Whitehall properties, some property owners may end up paying more in local real estate tax than they did last year.

[A 19.21 rate equates to $1,921 per year for anyone with a property valued at $100,000 (land and building value combined).]

The reassessments (and corresponding increases in values) would set the school district up for a "windfall" of revenue in 2013-14 should it keep the same millage rate as last year, but law requires Baldwin-Whitehall, as it does all Allegheny County school districts, to adjust its tax rate to remain revenue-neutral—meaning that the district can't bring in more money than what is needed to balance its budget.

That accounts for the drastic millage-rate decrease proposed by Cherpak.

According to Cherpak's numbers, the total amount of taxable property value in Baldwin-Whitehall went from $1,509,902,971 in 2012 to $1,866,016,810 in 2013—a 23.59-percent increase.

One mill in B-W equals $1,866,017, or roughly $36 million in local property taxes. Combined with roughly $5 million in district revenue from other sources like earned income tax and real estate transfer taxes, and roughly $20 million in state and federal revenue from sources like subsidies, reimbursements and grants, the district is estimated to have around $61 million to spend in 2013-14.

The local property tax number is not final, though, as almost $79 million in Baldwin-Whitehall property value is still under appeal with the Allegheny County Department of Real Estate.

High-level expenses in B-W, meanwhile, are projected at around $60.7 million, including roughly $42 million in salaries and benefits.

Cherpak is proposing that the school board adopt this new budget at its May 8 meeting and approve it in final at its June 12 meeting.

Check out the PDF in this article's media gallery (below the picture) for more information.

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