Port Jervis School District Levied $23 Million Excessive Taxes in Four Years, State Audit Says
The Port Jervis School District in New York consistently levied millions of dollars more property taxes than needed and put an unnecessary burden on taxpayers, according to a newly released audit by the State Comptroller’s Office.
During the past four fiscal years, the district overestimated spending by an average of $5.8 million a year, resulting in surpluses that were three to five times the statutory limit, the report says.
It also engaged in opaque transfers of surpluses, or fund balances, to fill up reserve funds—a practice that should have been explicitly disclosed to taxpayers in the budget votes, the report finds. …