Franklin Lakes to Pay Less in RIH Taxes

The Ramapo-Indian Hills Board of Education 2011-12 budget reflects a 2.83 percent increase in spending and a 0.24 percent decrease to the tax levy. The $49 million budget will be presented to voters on April 27. To pass, the budget needs a cumulative majority from the three sending municipalities of Wyckoff, Franklin Lakes and Oakland. 

Increased costs include instruction, employee benefits, capital outlay and capital reserve. Thanks to $481,067 in state aid, the total amount to be raised by taxation is decreasing by $108,005; of that, $43,334 is for the general fund and $64,613 for debt services. 

“I have never actually seen this before,” Business Administrator Frank Ceurvels said as he introduced the budget, “where the district taxes for the general fund goes down by $43,000 from one year to the next.”

Despite the decrease to the tax levy, not all tax bills are going down. If the budget is approved, Wyckoff residents will see a $94 increase on a home assessed at $810,600, the township’s average.

Residents in both Oakland and Franklin Lakes will pay about $34 less for the average home. Both municipalities underwent a tax reassessment last year, in which home values in both communities dropped. The average home in Oakland decreased in value from $485,600 last year to $407,800. The average Franklin Lakes home decreased from $1,280,901 last year to $1,032,252.

"After the rapid decline in home sale prices over the last couple of years it became necessary to conduct the reassessment to make sure that all properties were still assessed fairly in relation to each other and the marketplace," Oakland Borough Administrator Richard Kunze told Patch. "Like most towns, we have seen an increase in tax appeals and the reassessment will reduce the borough's exposure to successful appeals."

The change to home values, however, does not impact the complex formula that determines how much each municipality pays toward the regional school district. The state provides the district with the three-way percentage share, taking into account the equalized value of each municipality and the number of students in both elementary school and high school. For 2011-12, the split is 39.6 percent Wyckoff, 38.3 percent Franklin Lakes and 22 percent Oakland. In 2010-11 year, Wyckoff paid 39 percent, Franklin Lakes paid 38.8 percent and Oakland paid 22.1 percent.

Of the 2,388 students in the district, Wyckoff sends the majority with 1,025.5 students, Oakland sends 766.5 students and Franklin Lakes sends 596 students. These figures, used for the budget year, are from the previous year.

For the budget to pass in the April 27 election requires a cumulative majority from the three sending towns. In the last decade, voters denied the budget twice. In 2006, the budget was defeated 55 to 45 percent, with majorities in both Franklin Lakes and Oakland voting no. In 2008, the budget lost 52 to 48 percent, with majorities in Wyckoff and Oakland voting no. In the event that the budget does not pass, the governing bodies of the three communities must come to a consensus on a figure to decrease the budget.

Here's a closer look at the numbers, which are rounded off, and what they mean for you: