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The ability to grant such an exemption, which had previously only been available to counties and municipalities, was signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in December 2013, according to a recap published by the school district. However, the recap adds that notice of the measure was not given until January 2014.
The school board ruled out approving the measure last year, the district’s recap added.
“Katonah-Lewisboro, like most school districts, determined that it would not be possible to analyze and communicate the impact of the exemption both on veteran and non-veteran households by the required deadline in order for it to be applied to the 2014-15 school tax bills.”
The school board decided at its Feb. 20, 2014, meeting that it would revisit the matter for the next school year, according to the recap.
The district adds that as of October, 75 percent of school districts had yet to approve an exemption, citing a survey from the New York State Association of Business Officials.
However, the district’s recap notes that approval of a veterans’ tax exemption would result in a shift of the amount exempted, causing school-tax increases for non-veteran households.
The announcement says that for the exemption to be effective for the 2015-16 school-tax bills, it must be adopted by May 1 for the Town of North Salem and June 1 for the towns of Lewisboro, Bedford and Pound Ridge.
The school board’s meeting is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. and will be held at John Jay High School’s library in Cross River. At the meeting, Assistant Superintendent for Business Michael Jumper is set to give a financial presentation on the issue.
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