Hamilton’s New Budget Suggests Tax Increases

The Hamilton School Board took its first glimpse at the 2012-13 budget Monday, and due to the continuing drop in state aid, taxes are expected to increase for district residents.

The total proposed budget is $49.1 million — an increase of more than 1.5 percent compared to this year’s budget. However, the district is quick to point out the proposed budget is still more than .

And while the district is looking at a no-change, “status quo budget,”  Businesses Services Assistant Superintendent Bryan Ruud said property tax increases are coming because of decline in state aid.

“We’re continuing to see a trend, a shift of our revenue from the state to the local taxpayer,” Ruud said. “There are less dollars coming from the state, especially because we’re a very property-wealthy area. Income from the state and the tax levy have always hovered around 50-50, but we’re seeing a trend with less money from the state.”

“We’re continuing to see a trend, a shift of our revenue from the state to the local taxpayer.”

Now the is expecting to receive only 38 percent of its revenue from the state, while taxpayers will be expected to chip in more than 58 percent. The rest comes from other income, such as fees, and other aid.

However, the drop in state aid for the 2012-13 budget is only a fraction of what the School Board experienced when planning the current budget. Ruud said Hamilton is losing another $337,000 in state aid, or roughly 2 percent. But .

The projected property tax rate is $10.41 per $1,000 of equalized property value, a 2.78 percent increase. The impact on local taxpayers will be a $28 increase for each $100,000 of property owned, officials estimate.

“We’re pretty confident with where the numbers are to date,” Ruud said. “We asked the heads of each department to come in with zero-percent increases, with minor exceptions like utility costs. For the most part you’ll find the budget is pretty much flat. It’s kind of a boring budget, but after this past year, boring is good. We’re liking boring a lot.”

The School Board will vote in May on the final budget, and it will be officially presented on June 18 at the district's annual meeting.