Crawford Central passes budget with tax hike

Jun. 29—VERNON TOWNSHIP — Crawford Central School District taxpayers will see their real estate tax rates increase by more than 3 percent.

Crawford Central School Board members on Monday voted unanimously to approve an increase of 1.86 mills for Crawford County residents of the district and 3.01 mills for Mercer County residents, a tax hike that takes effect Thursday. They also voted 7-1 to approve the $70.9 million budget that the tax increase helps to finance. Crawford Central includes a single Mercer County municipality — French Creek Township.

A year ago, district leaders were unified in their unwillingness to raise taxes given the impact of the economic shutdown that accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty of what lay ahead.

This year, the economic impact of the pandemic has left board members largely unified in their support for an increase. That support held steady through three months of budget discussions even as board members anticipated skepticism from a public aware that the district was slated to receive $12.4 million in federal pandemic relief over three years.

Despite that infusion of cash, some on the board pointed to projected shortfalls over the next three years of $16.8 million in calling for an even larger hike and predicting that additional raises will be necessary in the near future.

Following the meeting, board leaders were hesitant regarding the question of whether the tax increase was the first several.

"I take it a year at a time," board President Jan Feleppa said regarding the possibility of more increases. During budget discussions in recent months, she expressed support for an increase of 2.16 mills, the maximum allowed without voter approval.

Feleppa also criticized what she described as the board's "almost mind boggling" lack of investment in the district and its failure to follow a plan proposed three years ago. After the board approved a tax rate increase of 1 mill, Business Manager Guy O'Neil recommended that it follow that up with three consecutive years of 0.5-mill increases.

Confronted with the first of those incremental hikes in 2019, members ultimately rejected it after a marathon meeting involving 10 votes on the budget and tax levy as they searched for a combination that could win enough support.

Vice President Jeff Rose, who was among the board members who voted against the incremental increases laid out three years ago, acknowledged on Monday that the district might have been better served if the plan had been followed.

"Maybe I should have listened to him [Business Manager Guy O'Neil] more that little ones each year are probably better than sitting back and waiting and trying not to increase taxes," Rose said after the meeting. "It's a tough thing. I'm not for tax increases, but costs go up every year."

The increase of 1.86 mills for next year puts the millage rate for Crawford County residents of the district slightly ahead of where it would have been had O'Neil's original plan been followed. Rose expressed optimism that Monday's vote in favor of a tax hike would not set a new trend for the district.

"I certainly hope it's not the beginning — especially of this magnitude," he said.

Frank Schreck was the lone board member to oppose the budget; after the meeting he said he had intended to oppose the tax increase as well but was momentarily distracted when the vote was called and did not voice his opposition. Board member Paula Jo Harakal was absent from the meeting.

The $70.9 million budget for next year represents an increase of $3.5 million or 5.2 percent over the 2020-21 budget. Key drivers of the budget growth, according to O'Neil, include increases of $413,000 for cyber-charter school tuition, $235,000 for technology, $233,000 for special education, $211,000 for the district's contributions to the state's teacher retirement system, and $110,000 for debt service.

With 1 mill equaling $1 for every $1,000 of a property's assessed value, a Crawford County resident in the district who owns a home with the median assessed value of $29,000 will see an annual increase of $53.94 or about 3.5 percent. Under the current rate of 52.61 mills, the same hypothetical owner pays $1,525.69 each year.

For the district's Mercer County residents in French Creek Township, which includes about 550 properties, the proposed increase would take the property tax rate from 93.16 mills to 96.11 mills. The owner of a property with the township's median assessed value of $17,550 will see an annual increase of $51.77 or about 3.2 percent.

The large discrepancy between the overall millage rates and the size of the tax increases for district residents in the two counties led six French Creek Township residents to attend the meeting, two of whom addressed the board with a series of questions. Board Attorney Christopher Sennett said that despite the apparent discrepancy, property owners in the two counties were being treated consistently.

"While it looks like Mercer County or French Creek Township is bearing a disproportionate burden in terms of the raw numbers, that's actually not the case," Sennett said, explaining that the varying millage rates and assessments of the two counties are balanced by a state-mandated formula. "In reality, all the taxpayers are bearing the same burden depending on the value of your home."

Mike Crowley can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at mcrowley@meadvilletribune.com.

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