Arundel Board of Selectmen at Monday’s meeting set the tax rate for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.
Selectmen approved raising the tax rate from $13.20 to $13.86 per $1,000 valuation with an overlay of approximately $43,100.
as reported by the kennebunkpost.com
This will be a trend in the next couple of years, especially if those who are set on withdrawing from the RSU are successful.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone notice that our taxes went up, despite not buying out the contract?
Wait until next year when we go back to the default cost-sharing formula!
Has anyone conducted due diligence on the tax impact of having to maintain the salaries and infrastructure of MLD if we go it alone?
Does anyone realize that the millions of dollars in needed repairs will not be available to Arundel for several years if we vote to withdraw from the RSU?
Tax for thought, folks. If you truly do not want higher taxes, you'll take these points into consideration. Otherwise, you'll have absolutely nothing to yammer about, because you'll have chosen those higher taxes for yourself.
AMEN
ReplyDeleteSo I got my tax bill for the year; it's gone up a couple hundred dollars. 'Awesome'.
ReplyDeleteWait - we didn't buy out the TAMS contract, so how did that happen?
It happened because the town could not keep up with the increase in school tax, and ended up cutting the town budget.
ReplyDeleteBut, wouldn't that issue have been resolved if there was a 'yes' vote on the cost-sharing formula?
ReplyDeleteI thought that the $1.2M that was applied toward our tax bills this year was supposed to net us all savings! That's what voters were told by some of the folks from Arundel; I'm starting to wonder if that was intentional misinformation, just so the contract wouldn't be bought out.
Not only did this not save me any money, but it increased my tax bill.
I seriously hope Arundel voters really think about the financial consequences of withdrawing from the RSU. If voting 'no' to buy out the contract didn't save us tax money, and voting 'no' on the cost-sharing formula didn't save us tax money, and forcing the Board to apply that $1.2M to our tax bills didn't save us tax money, where on God's green earth does anyone think we're going to get the money to maintain our school, teacher's salaries, and a contract with TAMS?
Please - PLEASE think about this, before you vote your neighbors into debt.
The vote last summer was a sham, as far as I'm concerned. 'Vote no to a tax increase' turned out to be 'Vote no just because, we'll deal with the consequences later'. I'll be voting Board members out of their jobs when their terms are up if they support withdrawal from the RSU. This is ridiculous.
The consequences of consolidation are too extreme. Look what it and a minority has done to Arundel.
ReplyDeleteYou can try voting board members out, but there again you are up againt the majority of Arundel.
Taking out an ad, bashing democracy, TA, teachers of ML Day, parents and students is ridiculous.
I'm just questioning the rationale of voting against something under the premise of our taxes going up, and then our taxes went up anyway.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the signs posted around town about 'vote no to tax increases' were meant to scare us into voting against something that might have *saved* us some money.
If we withdraw from the RSU, there are significant costs associated with the withdrawal, not to mention the costs that are normally associated with running a school. That $3.7M in repairs that MLD needs aren't going to be funded by the state for three to five years after withdrawal, according to reorganization law. So, where would we come up with the money for that, especially knowing we don't even have half a million in our piggy bank?
The only way to do it would be to raise taxes, or ignore the much needed repairs for several years, and I feel that disenfranchises the voters, as well as puts our children at a disadvantage.
What are your thoughts?
Perhaps you should crunch some numbers, and figure out what the impact would have been if we did buy out the contract, not short term, but long term.
ReplyDeleteThe town may have raised taxes, the county definitely raised their rate, and the school budget went up, regardless of TAMS buyouts or none.
ReplyDeleteTaxes go up almost every year, and you need to look at all three components - school, town and county.
We have an RSU that Arundel can not keep up with, and to top it off, Arundel decreased the annual budget since consolidation to maintain zero tax increase, which essentially was not favorable to the town.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, all 3 components of tax should be taken into consideration, when you do not maintain roads, or get equipment for the Fire Department, don't give raises, and the only thing that is increasing is school tax, compile that with not maintaining the town that houses these students is a no win situation for everyone.
Maybe this is why increases happened?
The contract was BREACHED when RSU 21 solicited, and enrolled students.
In the Matter of the Arbitration Between
Thornton Academy and Maine Regional School Unit 21:
"The vote by RSU 21’s Board to allow 45 students from Arundel to attend the Middle School of the Kennebunks is contrary to the terms of the contract, which is binding on RSU 21. The testimony supports the conclusion that the Board members voting for the pertinent motion did so in good faith, and largely with good intentions. However, under the contract, RSU is simply not entitled to solicit, accept applications from or enroll publicly tuitioned students from Arundel."
AND
"Prior to the entry of an Order of Stay in this case on June 6, 2010, RSU 21 had accepted inquiries and/or applications from the parents of 19 students from Arundel (12 going into the 6th grade, 3 into the 7th and 4 into the 8th) who wished to have their children enrolled in the Middle School of the Kennebunks. The enrollment of any of the referenced children by RSU 21 represents a breach of the contract between the parties."
I guess your right. The arbitrator ruled the contract was breached. Only after he recognized, as written, the contract could be interpreted in more than one way, hence the need to rely only on the intent of a few individuals.
ReplyDeleteMaybe better education could have resulted in a better written contract. Maybe it resulted in what we have??
The people posting on this site should do their homework when discussing finances with the school. Budgets are down all over the place and usualy have the same effect no matter what the budget is for. Reduced services, and less pay for employees.
What is very interesting is to determine the effects of state taxes on the local level. When Pauly L, says the state has saved money, he fogets to tell you your local Tax collector will be collecting the difference.
Only if the town residents don't take steps to keep their local budgets level. There is no "must" in municipal tax increases. There are only municipal officials who would like you to BELIEVE there's a "must."
ReplyDeleteRegardless, the RSU was wrong to breach the contract then, and the ones still trying are wrong, now.
Municipal tax was flat for years because of consolidation! Just to be sure that I was correct I checked meeting minutes, and budget board meetings are of low attendance. If you could cut the municipal budget, or knew of a cheaper way, what would you do?
ReplyDeleteI agree the those still wanting to breach the contract are wrong. Arundel has not been represented well at RSU meetings in the past, hopefully now we can move forward, and withdraw.
In response to the September 6th post @ 10:45 AM:
ReplyDeleteJust for clarification purposes only, the intent of the contract was validated by the district wide vote, Arundel voted the buy-out down, it just wasn't by a small few.
I do not believe that the education funding is a merely the Governor of Maine. Education funding has been declining since the prior administration. Governor Lepage also made it so that rural towns like Arundel would get more funding for education.
To the Poster who posted on September 6 @ 2:09 PM
As many others attended town meeting this year, there was a need for increases this year. The roads can not continue to be left in the condition that they are in, some would be impassable in the near future: Brimstone Road. There was an increase in the Fire Rescue because of the radios, and equipment that was expiring. The gear that they would use to fight fire, and potentially save someone's life have guidelines at the FED/State level, and some were torn, didn't fit properly, and the gear that was being used were handed down from another department. Since consolidation, the budget was cut, so that there would be zero impact on the tax-payer. Town officials, ie: Board of Selectmen, and Budget Board also did not give raises to town employees, the John Fraser found insurance that was cheaper. Our town employees work with very little, and are in a building that is literally falling apart. Have you ever been there when the wind is blowing? The metal roofing flaps in the wind? The windows are closed up with plastic to keep drafts out in the winter, and some of the shutters have fallen off, mice problems, etc.