Last week, the Tyrone Area School Board corrected an oversight by officially approving a decrease in the Earned Income Tax commission rate charged to municipalities in the district.
In February, the board voted to cut tax collector compensation from $2.50 per parcel to $1.50 per parcel. That vote was followed by a vote to decrease the Earned Income Tax commission rate from 3 percent to 2.5 percent.
The decisions came during a special meeting on Feb. 14 on tax collector compensation.
After an hour-long executive session which started about 15 minutes into the meeting, the board reconvened and voted on the tax collector compensation motion. The decision was 8 to 0 in favor of cutting the amount paid to tax collectors in the district. The board had voted down the $1.50 amount by a 6 to 3 vote at a regular meeting the previous week.
Initially, the district was seeking to reduce the tax collector compensation to 41 cents per parcel, according to an agenda from February’s regular meeting. After discussion in an executive session prior to that meeting, the motion was revised to the $1.50 figure.
The executive sessions centered around possible litigation issues involving Tyrone Borough on the tax issues.
Two local collectors attended the Feb. 14 meeting, Annette Fry of Warriors Mark and Betty Layton of Franklin Township.
The day after the meeting, Layton told The Daily Herald, “I wasn’t surprised, I thought they might go to 41 cents. It seems like they must have had some kind of deal with the borough.”
She also questioned the board’s decision to vote on the EIT commission rate. She noted it was not on the agenda and wondered whether or not if it was legal for the board to vote on it.
Superintendent Dr. William N. Miller was asked about the motion and vote on the EIT commission rate.
Last month he said, “We should have advertised the special meeting as a regular meeting. During the negotiations with the borough, part of the package was we would change the EIT commission rate from 3 to 2.5 percent.”
He said because the EIT commission rate wasn’t on the agenda, the Feb. 14 vote was null and void. He said the board would correct the error by voting on the issue again at the March regular meeting.
The school board took the corrective action last week by placing the commission rate decrease proposal on the agenda and voting in favor of it.
In February, School board president Lee Stover explained why the board voted in favor of the $1.50 amount.
“Even though we had a number much lower than that, it’s important to keep in mind we have to look at other compensation in other districts and that (the $1.50 figure) is more in line with what’s occurring in districts like Hollidaysburg.”
Stover expressed the district’s desire to be efficient, saying, “We have new technology, and we are using the technology effectively, and we are able to lower some of those costs significantly. That to me is an intelligent use of your investment of the people’s money in technology to make a better operating system.”
Stover also explained why the district wanted to reduce the amount the district collects from municipalities, the Earned Income Tax commission rate, from 3 percent to 2.5 percent effective July 1, 2005.
“Again, we are concerned about being efficient. We feel the way things are going, it can be done probably at that amount,” said Stover. “In addition, that gives the borough and the supervisors money back. If they have to adjust compensation rates, there is some money to do it with.”
Stover said the change could mean a savings of a few thousand dollars a year for the district.
According to TASD Business Administrator Cathy Peachey, Tyrone Borough decided not to pursue litigation after the issues were discussed between the parties.
Shortly after the Feb. 14 meeting, a Snyder Township Supervisor, James L. Miller, Jr., said the township might try to pursue litigation in regards to the school board’s action.
According to Daily Herald sources, the issue was not discussed at the most recent Snyder Township meeting nor was an executive session held. Mr. Miller did not return a phone call placed to him this morning by press time.
The new tax collector compensation rate is scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2006. The board was required to make a decision by Feb. 14 or the current $2.50 rate would have remained in effect for another four years.
