This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
09/25/2017 12:00 AMSome Madison residents checking their mailboxes today will have noticed a flyer regarding the Ryerson Rebuild referendum set for tomorrow, Tuesday, Sept. 26. While the flyer sets out an alarming fiscal scenario, that scenario doesn’t hold up.
The flyer, which was stuffed in mailboxes without postage (an act that itself is illegal under federal law), reads:
“Your taxes will triple!!! Consider the math: new library—already approved + next revaluation – right around the corner + let’s not forget Malloy’s incompetence you are paying for – as he pulls funding from our successful town = your taxes just doubled + proposed new school = your taxes have tripled!!! VOTE NO! And stop the spending.”
The flyer is unsigned and the impact on residents’ taxes is wildly inaccurate.
According to Madison Director of Finance Stacy Nobitz, if you assume all other budget factors stayed flat, including the operating budget, it would take an additional $150 million in annual spending to triple the budget.
“If someone’s [annual] taxes are $2,700, it would take $150 million for their taxes to be close to $8,000,” she said.
To finance just a Ryerson rebuild, the estimated net town share is $29,365,233. The tax impact, considering a median household assessed value of roughly $400,000, is on average $222 over the life of the financing. These numbers, provided by the town bond consultant, don’t include existing town debt or library renovation debt.
To finance both Ryerson and Jeffrey, the expected town share of the project is $59,885,000. The tax impact, considering a median household assessed value of roughly $400,000, is on average $455 over the life of the financing, according to figures presented by the town bond consultant Bill Lindsey at an April BOE meeting.
The first bond for Ryerson would not be issued until fiscal year 2019-’20 and town finance officials and the town bond consultants are attempting to stage the debt so that new debt comes on as the high school debt drops off.
While there is no question the state is struggling, what Madison is expected to lose in Education Cost Sharing (ECS)—roughly $448,000—was already absorbed into the Board of Education budget for this year. Superintendent of Schools Tom Scarice previously said this budget reflects a reduction of 7.5 certified teaching positions across the district, a move designed to respond to declining enrollment and dwindling state funding.
Polls are open for the Ryerson School referendum from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at the Senior Center (District 1) and Brown School (District 2). Read more about the referendum here.