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Residents ask Batavia school board to stop increasing taxes

Several Batavia residents asked the school board to stop increasing the district's operating property taxes at a Tuesday hearing about the proposed 2014-15 budget.

The board will vote on the budget at 7 p.m. Sept. 23. The fiscal year began July 1.

Property tax levies are voted on in December, and property taxes are collected primarily in May, June, September and October.

Batavia resident Ron Rechenmacher said he realizes the district is legally allowed to raise its operating levies by the rate of inflation as determined by the Consumer Price Index. The last four years, the CPI increase has averaged 1.5 percent, he said. But median household income in Batavia has only increased .735 percent.

"The bottom line is that it is not appropriate at this time to implement the year-over-year growth limited to the Consumer Price Index," Rechenmacher said.

Resident Joe Marconi criticized the amount of raises awarded this year to members of the teacher's union, in a contract approved two weeks ago.

Overall, the covered employees' pay was increased 3.72 percent, with rates varying depending on years of experience and educational attainment. Raises in the second and third years of the contract will be tied to the CPI.

"I ask you, I ask you, I plead with you, I think that we ought to start pushing back a little bit. I don't see why we should give a teacher a 3 percent increase when the cost of living (increase) in Batavia is 1.6 or 1.5 percent," Marconi said. "I plead with you to be careful with how we spend our money."

Michelle Olache of Batavia said there was a lack of detail in the budget document: "I don't understand how a school district with a budget of over $85 million tries to explain it in nine pages," she said. The district has posted two budget documents on its website: a nine-page "high level" summary, and a 22-page PowerPoint presentation from an August budget workshop.

And Batavia Taxes co-founder Sylvia Keppel echoed that. "I wish I could provide deep, considered content, but there is little in the budget," she said.

Keppel asked if the district has saved any money on textbooks, since it is outfitting students with Chromebooks; if money for a proposed deal to lease-to-own a different maintenance building had been included, or just the cost of fixing up the present building; and if all expenses for the Batavia Fine Arts Centre had been included.

Keppel previously has criticized the fine arts director's contention that it is operating in the black, because his calculations did not include utilities or the cost of the money borrowed to build it.

The board did not reply to the comments.

It will take one more look at the budget at its finance committee meeting at noon Sept. 23.

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