P-G: Tax hike, funding, job cuts, tap of reserves characterize plan in Mt. Lebanon

After a months-long budget-making process some of them said was their most difficult to date, Mt. Lebanon school directors approved a final 2012-13 spending plan Monday night that will raise the property tax rate by a half mill and includes $850,000 in program and staff cuts.

No teachers will be furloughed in the $80.6 million budget, but the district will furlough one 10-month secretary, six part-time library clerks and one high school library clerk. The millage increase will mean an extra $50 a year for a home valued at $100,000, and the total millage is 27.13 mills.

Read the full article:

• www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-south/tax-hike-funding-job-cuts-tap-of-reserves-characterize-plan-in-mt-lebanon-637368/ (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

P-G: Property taxes to rise a half mill in Mt. Lebanon schools

School directors in Mt. Lebanon voted Monday night to increase the property tax rate by a half mill in the district's proposed $80.6 million final 2012-13 budget.

The increase would mean an extra $50 on tax bills for a home valued at $100,000. With this plan, the district's millage would total 27.13

Read the full article:

• http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-south/property-taxes-to-rise-a-half-mill-in-mt-lebanon-schools-632133 (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

P-G: New Mt. Lebanon budget includes tax increase

Mt. Lebanon commissioners approved a $33.2 million operating budget Tuesday that increases the real estate tax rate.

The commission approved raising the rate by 0.67 mill, to a total of 5.43 mills. As the budget stands now, property owners will pay $543 next year for a home valued at $100,000, up from $476 in 2011.

Read the full article:

• www.post-gazette.com/pg/11356/1198462-55.stm (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

P-G: Mt. Lebanon budget plan has tax hike

Mt. Lebanon property owners could see a 0.245-mill increase in the real estate tax rate next year if the recommended $42.3 million municipal budget is approved and property reassessments are finalized, municipal manager Stephen Feller said.

A 0.245-mill increase in real estate tax would mean an increase of $24.50 per year in the tax bill for a home valued at $100,000. For a $200,000 home, the increase would be $49 per year.

In recent years, Mt. Lebanon's millage rate has been reduced from 4.97 in 2008 to 4.76 this year. In 2010, it was 4.89.

Read the full article:

• www.post-gazette.com/pg/11307/1187032-55-0.stm (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Mt. Lebanon School Board OKs Budget, Tax Increase

The Mt. Lebanon school board approved on Monday a proposed $79.5 million final budget with a millage rate of 26.69 mills, an increase of 2.58 mills from the 2009-10 budget.

The board passed the budget by a vote of 6 to 3, with board members James Fraasch, Faith Ann Stipanovich and Dale Ostergaard dissenting.

The millage rate hike represents a 10.7 percent increase in property taxes. The increase of 2.58 mills included a 2.16 mill increase resulting from a $69 million bond issue for the proposed $113.3 million high school renovation, a .37 mill increase for pension responsibility increases and a .05 mill increase for operating expenses in the base budget.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10110/1051896-100.stm

School Board OKs $72 Million Budget

The Mt. Lebanon school board approved a $72 million preliminary 2009-2010 budget that calls for a real estate tax hike of .3 mills.

The increase, if approved in the final budget, will mean that taxpayers will pay an additional $30 for each $100,000 in assessed value on their homes, said Finance Director Jan Klein. The new proposed millage rate will be 24.11.

Under state Act 1, which limits the amount of tax increases districts can impose, Mt. Lebanon could have raised taxes by 1 mill. The vote to approve the preliminary budget, taken last week, was 7-1, with school director Mark Hart voting against the plan and school director Ed Kubit absent.

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/09113/964805-55.stm

School Board Mulls Raising Taxes

School board members in Mt. Lebanon are poised to approve a preliminary budget for 2009-2010 that includes a .30 mill tax increase with cuts to some programs and travel.

This projected tax increase figure could change by the time the board approves the final budget. The preliminary budget will be on display for 30 days after April 13. The projected tax hike is .70 mills less than permitted under Act 1.

Act 1 is a state law which outlines a process school districts must adhere to if they plan to increase taxes beyond pre-set limits. The law aims to ease the financial burden for home owners by providing school districts the means to lower property taxes, especially senior citizens, via the funding provided by gaming revenue.

Link: www.thealmanac.net/ALM/Story/04-15-ML-school-budget-B