Proposed project’s tax impact would be phased in
If Fayetteville-Manlius School District voters on Dec. 5 approve the proposed $45.2 million facilities referendum, it will likely be about 18 months before construction at Enders Road Elementary School and Fayetteville-Manlius High School would begin, and nearly two years before Wellwood Middle School’s projects begin.
If voters authorize the proposal, the district anticipates construction would begin at Enders Road and the high school in June 2019. Projects included in the energy performance contract (EPC) are also expected to begin then. “If we get the OK from voters, we will then work with our architects and engineers to finalize project designs so we can submit them to the state Education Department for approval,” said F-M Assistant Superintendent for Business Services William Furlong. “The state could take upwards of seven months, and maybe even longer, to review and approve the plans. Once that approval is given, we can go ahead and ask for and award bids, a process that also takes a couple months.”
Because the Wellwood portion of the project would require more planning, the final design process for the addition and renovations at the middle school will take a bit longer so the district would submit project plans to the state in two phases: Enders Road, the high school and the EPC in July 2018 and Wellwood’s plan in November 2018, at the earliest.
That also means that of the total estimated 1.11 percent proposed property tax levy increase, residents would first only see the portion related to Enders Road, the high school and the EPC, which would be about a 0.3 percent increase that would take effect for the 2019-20 school year. For a town of Manlius home, the tax rate increase for that year would be estimated at $7.75 per $100,000 of taxable value.
Wellwood’s share of the tax levy increase, about 0.8 percent, would impact school tax rates for the 2020-21 school year. So for a town of Manlius home, the tax rate increase for that portion of the project would be estimated at $20.69 per $100,000 of taxable value. Based upon the current tax rate, the total estimated tax rate increase of $0.28 per thousand, or $28.44 per $100,000 of taxable value, would be realized during the 2020-21 school year.
If the projects follow the anticipated schedule, the EPC, which includes boiler replacements at the district office building, Eagle Hill Middle School and the high school, and the work at Enders Road and the high school are estimated to be complete in September 2020. Wellwood’s projects would be scheduled to be done in September 2022.
Voting will take place 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Dec. 5 at Fayetteville Elementary School. More information about the facilities proposal is available online at fmschools.org/district.cfm?subpage=44729.
