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School board awaits word from city about tax amnesty program: Tax amnesty program would benefit both(The Daily Item, Sunbury, Pa. Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Mar. 14--SUNBURY -- Administrators in the Shikellamy School District are waiting for word from city officials before they go ahead with a tax amnesty program that would allow both to collect delinquent taxes. The plan is to bring the city on board with the district, since both are owed several hundred thousand dollars in back taxes and both use the Sunbury-based Statewide Tax Recovery. The school board discussed offering a 35 percent discount for per capita and occupational taxes owed from 1998-2002, with the discount taken off the total amount of the tax owed, plus penalties. However, business manager Dave Sinopoli said Thursday night the district hasn't heard any official word from the city regarding what it plans to do. City Council members said they supported the district's plan when school director Preston Ross and Superintendent Alan Lonoconus presented the idea to them last month. "We need to work together, absolutely. It's a problem for the city," said Councilman John Shipman, who pointed out the city loses more than $100,000 every year to renters who don't pay their per capita and occupational taxes and then move. "By the time we find out where they are, they're gone again," he said. "It's not fair to the average taxpayer that a percentage of the population doesn't pay their taxes." He said the council likely would discuss the matter at its next meeting. In other business, principals at Shikellamy's seven schools were honored for their support of the Toys for Tots program. Paul Haines, a member of the Susquehanna Valley Marine Corps League, presented plaques to the principals. He said Shikellamy donated more than 1,400 toys to the program last year. "Every year, we've got to count on the Shikellamy School District," he said. Following the meeting, the school board met in executive session to discuss legal matters. The board will hold its next meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the all-purpose room at the Sunbury Middle School. n E-mail comments to [email protected]. To see more of The Daily Item or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dailyitem.com/. Copyright (c) 2008, The Daily Item, Sunbury, Pa. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |