N. Lehigh won’t exceed tax index

Northern Lehigh School District will not raise taxes beyond its Act 1 tax level.

That’s after the school board on a 7-0 vote Monday agreed to adopt a resolution to not increase the tax rate above the district’s 3.2 percent index for the 2018-19 fiscal year.

Directors Mathias Green and Robert Keegan Jr. were absent.

In June, the board approved this year’s $34,059,577 spending plan, which called for a 21.34 millage rate for Lehigh County and a 61.81 millage rate in Northampton County.

Sherri Molitoris, co-director of business affairs/human resources, said at that time the district had a $1,033,000 shortfall, but planned to offset a tax increase through the use of its fund balance as the result of savings over the past few years.

While that budget called for no increase, Molitoris said that based on the median assessed value of a home, residents of the district who live in Northampton County would see a $64 decrease in their property tax rates, while residents of the district who live in Lehigh County would see a $10 increase in their property tax rates.

She said that is due to the State Tax Equalization Board, and because the district exists between two counties, Lehigh and Northampton, the equalization board rebalances the tax levy from the prior year based on the percent of total market value per county, which is calculated by using the most recent market value information, based on property sales for that year.

Molitoris said the information being used for the market value was from 2015, and that the information is then used to reset the millage rates for each county from the prior year, and then calculates the new millage rates for the upcoming year.

She said then that four teachers, one at the high school, two at the middle school, and one at Peters Elementary, are set to retire.

Other aspects of that budget Molitoris highlighted were a decrease in medical by 6 percent, a 2.54 percent increase in the Public School Employees’ Retirement System; and $1,750,000 for one-time purchase of equipment and maintenance repairs and/or upgrades.

She said in April that the district was able to realize a $300,000 savings in health care costs.