Apr 5, 2016 1:11 PM

Bridgehampton School Board members appear ready to ask voters for permission to pierce the state cap on tax levy increases to avoid cutting staff and programming next year.

The district’s budget proposal for 2016-17 now stands at $13,778,439, which represents a spending increase of $960,094, or 7.49 percent, over the current year’s $12.8 million budget. In order to stay under the cap, the district would still have to cut $670,000 in spending next year, trimming the overall increase to less than $290,000, or 2.25 percent.

The current 2016-17 spending plan is paired with a $12,008,662 tax levy, which is an increase of $1,005,244, or 9.14 percent, over the current year’s roughly $11 million levy. If it were to stay below the cap, the district would have to limit next year’s tax levy increase to $333,729, or 3.03 percent.

To pierce the cap, at least 60 percent of ballots cast by district voters in May must be in favor of the 2016-17 budget.

School Board President Ronald White suggested at last week’s Board of Education meeting that the district should send out those “quirky postcards” to ensure that residents vote on the spending plan. “We have got to really push and make sure that everyone is informed about the ramifications about a non-60-percent approval vote,” he added.

If the budget proposal fails to get the support of at least 60 percent of voters, the board has the option of presenting the same plan a second time, or reducing spending before putting the budget up for a second vote. If the second attempt fails too, the district would be forced to adopt a potentially devastating budget that must contain a zero-percent increase in the tax levy.

In 2014-15, the Bridgehampton School successfully pierced the tax cap with a $12.3 million budget—though it took two tries to achieve. That approved budget represented a spending increase of $1.1 million, or 9.93 percent.

Under the current plan, owners of a home with an assessed value of $500,000 would pay $71.56 more in school property taxes next year, according to district officials. For a $1 million home, the owners would pay approximately $143.11 more in taxes, and those with homes assessed at $250,000 would pay about $35.78 more in taxes.

Members of the board said it seemed that taxpayers who attended a pair of community forums over the past month would be supportive of a decision to pierce the tax cap.

“I think, as a district, we have done everything we could to try to figure out how the district is feeling about this,” Board of Education member Jeffrey Mansfield said. “From what we gathered, the district is behind this—they understand what we are up against.”

Mr. Mansfield acknowledged that only a “small sample size” of the community showed up to those forums, but that they still added to the conversation and offered their input to the board. “They told us that they are behind this,” he said, pointing out that uncontrollable contractual expenses, such as health insurance premium increases, would not even come in below the tax cap for 2016-17.

Bridgehampton is anticipating a $403,700 increase in the cost of employee and retiree health insurance, to about $1.9 million, which is a 26-percent jump over this year’s cost. The health plans for four new teachers are also factored into that number, as well as funds set aside for employees who decide to switch over to the district’s insurance.

“If we don’t pierce the cap, it is going to affect our kids, and that is what it is all about,” Board of Education Vice President Lillian Tyree-Johnson said.

The board will meet again at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 13, in the school cafeteria before officially adopting the proposed budget.