DINGMAN TOWNSHIP – A zero-tax budget was adopted by the Delaware Valley School Board, but some doubt that flat tax will hold up.  The big unanswered question is $1.7 million in state aid. 

The budget is essentially the tentative budget adopted on a 6-2 vote last month.  The same two members, Pam Lutfy and Susan Schor, voted against adopting the budget again.

The problem is the $1.7 million, which DV may or may not get from the state.  If the district does not get the money, the board may need to revisit the budget, going with “Plan B”, which would mean a more than four percent tax hike.

”I can’t vote for this budget because we don’t have all the money in place”, Lutfy said.  “We may not have a budget until September 1.”

Lutfy was referring to the state budget, still being debated, and the present $3 billion deficit.  It is not known what the state will do to try and get more revenues. Gov. Ed. Rendell

Schor agreed.

Board member Sue Casey voted for the budget despite the same concerns. 

“What happens if we send out tax bills with no increase and we don’t get the money we need?”, pondered Casey.

“I find this situation frustrating”, said  John Wroblewski.

Superintendent Dr. Candis Finan said that the district would be holding up purchase orders and did make calls to the key companies the district orders from to make sure that they could put out orders quickly when the district knows how much money it has to spend.

“We can’t spend what we don’t have”, Finansaid, adding that contingency plans are in place if the budget needs to be cut.

Because the major concern of the Board is that they don’t know how long it will take the state to come through with funding and that tax bills are usually sent out by August 1, Business Manager William Hessling was asked if they could be sent out later. Hessling felt that tax bills could be sent out as late as August 15 if funding was late. That way there still would be time to make early payment as listed on the bills.