At its Monday, Dec. 11 meeting, the Fayetteville-Manlius Board of Education held a public hearing on separate property tax exemptions for volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers, senior citizens, and veterans.
In recent years, under New York State law, allowable exemptions that can be applied to school property tax bills have been expanded. A district’s board of education can elect to adopt these exemptions individually.
Unlike universal tax breaks such as School Tax Assessment Relief (STAR), the state does not reimburse school districts for the taxes first responders, senior citizens and veterans don’t pay. Instead, it causes a redistribution of taxes among taxpayers, or a tax shift. Exemptions do not affect the total amount of money a district needs to raise – the tax levy. Therefore, adopting an exemption could raise the tax bill for the remaining tax base in order to make up the difference.
Should the board decide to move forward, the next step in the process will be for the board to vote on the adoption of each tax exemption.
A recording of the meeting can be found on the district’s official YouTube channel.