Hampton will participate in Pink Postcard Meeting
The Hampton School Board held its legally required public hearing Monday night to “discuss support, opposition, criticism, suggestions or observations of taxpayers relating to the proposed budget for 2024-25 and consider amendments relative thereto,” but beyond the members of the board and school administration no taxpayers were in attendance.
The meeting proceeded as scheduled at 7:30 p.m. and Supt. Holly Herzberg used the time to preview the presentation she will be making at the Joint Public Tax Request Hearing (often referred to as the “Pink Postcard Meeting) next Thursday night in Aurora.
Because the district’s 2024-25 fiscal year tax askings tripped certain triggers, both the Hampton Public School District and the City of Aurora are required to attend the meeting to explain the reasons for their tax asking amounts. The hearing will be held at Aurora City Hall beginning 6:15 p.m. on Sept. 19.
Herzberg explained that required participation in the meeting is based on the amount that a taxing entity taxes in the general fund, plus the special building fund.
“So we have a lid on how high we can go up to that number, and it’s grown every year by what you tax in the previous year,” she explained. “Well, the previous eight years we hadn’t taxed in the building fund. So this year, we’re choosing to tax in the building fund because we paid off one of our bonds. Therefore, all that taxation for the building fund is being added to where there used to be a zero, and so that is the reason we’re exceeding that number.”
Herzberg said in reality the district is not raising taxes but simply shifting what’s known as the QCPUF bond (which will be paid off at the end of the year) over to the building fund. She said the QCPUF was done in 2014 and was for improvements to the indoor air quality of the high school.
“So we put in air conditioning, we put in new windows, new doors, took out the old boilers, and put in an HVAC system that brings in fresh air,” she said, adding that the bond will be paid off in December.
”So we felt like this was a good time,” Herzberg continued. “We told our patrons we weren’t going to ask for money in the building fund until we had one of those paid off, and that one’s paid off, so we’re shifting it over.”
“I don’t think we should be afraid of the Pink Postcard Meeting,” Herzberg told the board. “We’re being fiscally responsible and this gives us an opportunity to go before the public and explain the budget.”
She also pointed out that because property valuations in the district are currently at the highest in history at $457,646,622 the mill levy “will drop significantly.” She also noted that one penny of levy currently brings in $45,000 in tax revenues and the overall tax asking will go up by 1.6 percent.
Herzberg also said with $715,500 in necessary cash reserves, the district will hopefully not have to borrow money in December as it has in recent years.
Herzberg also explained that, while the board could go ahead and approve the 2024-25 budget at Monday’s meeting, it would be better to wait until after the Sept. 19th tax request hearing. The board moved to set a special meeting for Monday, Sept. 23 at 8 p.m. to take care of that item of business.
During its regular meeting following Monday’s budget hearing, the board also moved to appoint board treasurer Derek Klute as its elected official to attend the hearing on the 19th, along with Herzberg.
Herzberg reported during the meeting that the new door access controls and security cameras approved at the last meeting had been installed by Hamilton Telecommunications and were working well. She said the new cameras were a big improvement over the old system.
She also reported that a power outage at the school early Monday had slightly impacted the beginning of the new school week. She said the outage was caused by a power pole problem near the entrance to the city park down the street, adding that NPPD crews had the problem fixed quickly.