By Brandon T. Bisceglia
Orange’s mill rate is likely to drop under the budget plan put forward by the town. However, residents’ property taxes could be going up anyway due to the recently-completed revaluation.
The $86,083,562 budget proposed by the Board of Finance marks a rise of about $2.3 million over last year’s totals, or 2.71 percent. However, the town’s grand list, which values all taxable property, went up by 10 percent over the past year.
That larger grand list is allowing the town to lower the mill rate from the current 31 mills to 29.1 mills. One mill is equal to $1 of tax for each $1,000 of assessed value.
The reason for the dramatic increase in the grand list mainly comes from higher real estate values that came to light during the town’s revaluation process in late 2023. Residential real estate values had increased so dramatically, in fact, that in 2024 town leaders opted to phase the higher assessments in over four years. The phase-in muted the initial impact of higher assessments, but virtually guaranteed some rise in the amount of tax homeowners would pay each year.
The real estate portion of the grand list grew the most this year, increasing by more than $225.5, or 11.18 percent. Business property also rose by 9.4 percent, while the value of motor vehicles dropped by 1.25 percent.
Homes are currently being taxed at an assessment rate of 62.5 percent; normally the assessed value would be 70 percent of the appraised market value.
There are three basic components to the Orange budget: town services; the Orange Public Schools, which covers all the elementary schools; and the Amity district, which includes the middle and high schools. The Amity budget is shared between Bethany, Orange and Woodbridge and divided between them based on a calculation that includes each town’s relative student enrollment.
The town side of the budget went up 4.71 percent to a total of $30,109,976. The Orange Public Schools budget also increased by 3.9 percent to $25,214,154.
Amity’s budget rose this year by 2.93 percent to $58,108,999. However, Orange’s portion of the contribution to the Amity budget is only expected to go up by $54,497, or 0.2 percent. This is due in part to a decrease of nine students enrolled from Orange. Both Bethany and Woodbridge had their enrollment numbers go up this year.
One of the largest cost drivers on the town side of the budget was employee benefits, which rose the most of any line item, by $666,630, or 7 percent.
For the elementary schools, more than half of the budget increase will go toward insurance increases, which are rising by $541,277.
While Amity saw substantial growth in expenditures for everything from salaries to equipment, that was offset significantly by a drop in more than $1.3 million in debt service, thus blunting the overall budget increase.
There will be a public hearing on the budget with the Board of Finance on April 22 in the café at High Plains Community Center. The referendum on the Amity portion of the budget happens on Tuesday, May 6 at HPCC. The referendum for the town and Orange Public Schools portions of the budget will be on Wednesday, May 21, also at HPCC. Polls on both dates are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.