Due to an error on the part of the Town of Mamakating, the Monticello Central School District is slated to receive $87.9K less in revenue than originally anticipated.
Municipalities assess the value of properties within their boundaries, and then apply tax rates based upon those values. School districts create tax warrants based upon this information provided by the municipality.
New York state tax law entitles certain commercial properties to specialized assessment rates. When the Town of Mamakating computed the taxable values of the properties in its bounds, it erroneously did not apply the “special franchise” calculation to two Orange and Rockland Utilities (O&R) properties. The district then calculated its own tax warrant based upon that erroneous information.
At the request of O&R, the Sullivan County Director of Real Property Tax services investigated the matter and confirmed the computing error. The district received notice of the error, and the subsequent reduction of $87,921 from its tax revenue in late September.
“We do not expect this situation to affect our Mamakating taxpayers,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matthew Evans said. “We are fortunate to have an astute business office at this district, and we will explore every strategy possible to mitigate this loss with the least impact to our students, staff or existing programs.”
The district will continue to update the community as more information becomes available.