To the editor,
As a Pay It Forward Committee member, I have had several opportunities to speak with residents of the school district who are both farmers and non-farmers. When I’ve discussed the project plans with individuals, the overwhelming response is that the plans seem like a good idea and that they appear to make sense. However, for some individuals, their support began to wane as they started to consider the impact to their check books.
By now, I am sure that many in the school district have seen a link to our informational website www.gccsdbondissue.info. The website contains a link to a property tax calculator which helps individuals determine their estimated tax increase based on their property’s net taxable values. Although this is a great resource tool, I think it would be further enhanced to connect the proposed tax rate increase with historical property tax rates.
Looking at the table below, we can see that for 2011 and 2012 the tax rate was in the $15.14 – $15.65 range. We can also see that the bond proposal would add $2.46 to the tax rate and that the new tax rate would be at or near the $15.00 mark in the coming years.
| Year | East Greene | Jeff-Scranton | Greene Co (Blended) |
| 2011 | 15.48 | 15.65 | |
| 2012 | 15.14 | 15.53 | |
| 2013 | 13.87 | 14.90 | |
| 2014 | 13.81 | 13.42 | |
| 2015 | 12.76 | ||
| 2016 | 12.55 | ||
| Bond Proposal (+2.46) | 15.01 (Using 2016) |
Over the past four years (2013-2016), residents have all been able to benefit from the lower property tax rates. While the school bond proposal will necessitate an increase over the reduced rates of the previous four years, the new tax rates will actually be on par with or slightly less than the 2011 and 2012 tax rates.
Mark VanderLinden, Jefferson | Pay It Forward Committee member
