State Legislation For Southampton-Tuckahoe School Merger Passes

A long-discussed merger between the Southampton and Tuckahoe school districts cleared a major hurdle last week when new legislation to allow separate tax rates within one school district was approved by both the New York State Assembly and the Senate. The measure now will be included in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposed budget, state officials have confirmed. With the legislation being included in all three of the government agencies’ draft budgets on April 1, State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. said this week it will most likely get the support it needs and be included in the final state budget later this spring—and a new merger vote could be held as early as this fall.With the legislation, if a merger of the two districts is approved by residents, a single new tax rate for the merged district would be phased in for both districts over the course of 10 years—a move that would drastically reduce the immediate increase for Southampton taxpayers from roughly 8.7 percent to as low as 0.8 percent, Mr. Thiele said. The increase was largely blamed for the measure failing to win approval among Southampton taxpayers.At the same time, local legislators are spearheading a separate bill, specific to Southampton and Tuckahoe, providing that if a merger occurs between the two neighboring districts, the newly formed district would be eligible for roughly 10 percent more state aid each year, an amount equal to about $500,000, Mr. Thiele said.“Over that 10-year period, as you are phasing in the new tax rate, at the same time assessed values are increasing, state aid will be increasing and other things will be working to keep taxes as stable as possible,” Mr. Thiele said.The idea of a merger has been discussed between the two districts for several years, but action was first taken in October 2012, when a merger study was commissioned by both districts. After the plan, which outlined details for the Southampton School District annexing Tuckahoe, was approved by New York State Education Commissioner John B. King’s office in August 2013, voters in the two districts were able to cast a first vote on the proposal. It was overwhelmingly approved by Tuckahoe voters, but those in the Southampton School District turned it down.Tuckahoe officials have said the fiscal future of the school district is dire, and without a merger or some other intervention, the district could become insolvent within a few years.The study estimated that Southampton taxpayers could expect to see an increase of roughly 21 cents to their annual property tax rate, which would be about 8.7 percent, or $105 more a year, on a house assessed at $500,000. Meanwhile, Tuckahoe’s property tax rate would be slashed by $4.82—nearly two-thirds of the current rate—saving the owner of a house similarly assessed at $500,000 more than $2,400 in annual property taxes.Although Tuckahoe residents approved the merger 565-35, Southampton residents rejected the proposal 1,075-693, temporarily shelving the merger while officials from both districts and state legislators went back to the drawing board to try to equalize the tax rates.Since then, neither district has abandoned merger talks, and the legislation has been supported by both Mr. Thiele and State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle. The new bill would equalize the tax impact on all registered voters of both districts by reducing how much the Tuckahoe residents will save up front, and at the same time decreasing the amount Southampton residents would see in an increase.With the new legislation all but in place, both districts can now look toward the future, as well as the possibility of bringing the merger back to a public vote as early as the fall. After an initial vote to gauge whether taxpayers in both districts find the plan worthy of moving forward, taxpayers will be asked to cast their vote again in a final vote.“There is the piece in the bill that the governor put in, and what we did was we accepted that language and we carved out separate language for Tuckahoe and Southampton,” Mr. LaValle said.Dr. Scott Farina, superintendent of the Southampton School District, was not immediately available for comment on Monday.“We are very appreciative of the efforts made by Assemblyman Thiele and Senator LaValle in working toward this solution to differentiate the requirement that exists in law for one tax rate so that over a period of time the taxes will be differentiated and fair for both school districts’ taxpayers,” Tuckahoe Superintendent Chris Dyer said this week. “We are very appreciative of their support.”