BOARD FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES

JUNE 6, 2005

REVISED

 

Members of the Board Finance Committee met on Monday, June 6, 2005, at 9:25 p.m. in the Dining Room at the Education Center. Present were School Board Members Charlene Koch, Diane Rowe, Julie Venanzi, Dr. Craig Haytmanek, Margaret Williams, Rosario Amato, Joseph Craig, and Loretta Leeson. Also present were Dr. Joseph A. Lewis, superintendent of schools, Michele Kostem, associate superintendent, Stanley J. Majewski, Jr., director of business affairs, and members of the press.

 

Courtesy of the Floor – None.

 

Open Forum – No discussion.

 

Mileage Reimbursement – Mr. Majewski stated that once a year, in our contracts, there is a requirement that we reimburse staff equal to the IRS approved rate for mileage. Action will be necessary in order to raise the reimbursement for mileage. The current rate we are paying is $.375. The IRS increased the rate to $.405 per mile, effective for this year. This item will appear on the June 27, 2005, Regular Board Agenda and will become effective for Bethlehem Area School District employes beginning September 1, 2005.

 

Repository Sales – The counties, when there are unpaid real estate taxes, will attempt to sell properties through Sheriff’s sale. When they are unsuccessful in doing so the properties transfers to the County Repository. They may sit there for many, many, years, and finally someone will put a bid on the properties. We have several properties with a bid of at least $1,000. That is a change. In the past a bid of $1.00 would have been acceptable to get a property out of the Repository so that it could be put back on the tax rolls, however, that has been changed to a minimum of $1,000 bid on properties having an appraised value of $1,000 or more. The minimum bid is $400 on properties having an appraised value of less than $1,000.

 

Mr. Majewski recommends that the board accept the bids so that the properties can be put back on the tax rolls. This item will appear on the June 27, 2005, Regular Board Agenda for board approval.

 

Tax Collection Rate for EIT – Last year the Township of Hanover and the Bethlehem

Area School District went in different directions for the collection of Earned Income Tax. This caused a hardship for the residents and taxpayers of Hanover Township as they had to file twice at the end of the year. Attempts to try to resolve this throughout the year were unsuccessful. Mr. Majewski has been working with Berkheimer Associates, and they are now willing to provide the district with a rate that is significantly less than what we pay to the City of Bethlehem for collection of Earned Income Tax.

 

June 6, 2005

Finance Committee Meeting Minutes

Page -2-

 

 

 

Berkheimer will extend this rate to all municipalities for which they collect Earned Income Tax. The savings for the school district will be approximately $40,000-$50,000 yearly. The residents and taxpayers of the Township of Hanover will only need to worry about one filing at the end of the year.

 

Mr. Majewski recommends that we change the Earned Income Tax collection from the City of Bethlehem for Hanover Township to Berkheimer Associates.

 

Mrs. Leeson questioned whether this was only for Hanover Township residents. Mr.

Majewski responded that we currently have a complicated matrix of tax collection. At this time it is suggested that we only change the Hanover Township Earned Income Tax collector. Berkheimer Associates is currently collecting in Bethlehem Township and the Borough of Fountain Hill for us. In the City of Bethlehem we have the City of Bethlehem collect the Earned Income Tax, and in Freemansburg we have elected tax collectors. We are trying to resolve what became a burden to the taxpayers of Hanover Township last year. A majority of our municipalities are now being collected by Berkheimer.

 

UNFUNDED MANDATES – Mr. Majewski reviewed a list of unfunded mandate costs with the committee. The district has between $8 and 10 million in unfunded mandate expenditures within its budget.

 

Mrs. Koch thanked Mr. Majewski and administrators for preparing this list. It was suggested an addendum be added to the budget listing the costs of the unfunded mandate expenditures. Mr. Majewski will see to it that the addendum appears somewhere in the budget.

 

Mr. Majewski informed the committee that the budget is now on the web.

The meeting adjourned at 9:50 p.m.

 

Minutes prepared by:

            Adele Embardino, Confidential Secretary to the Director of Business Affairs