Wyckoff residents, get ready to pay if the development is approved, tax study says

An analysis of the projected tax revenues that will be raised by a nine-house Barrister Home Construction development at Deep Voll Ravine shows that it will cost Wyckoff taxpayers at least $75,000 more per year to provide school services to children living there than the school tax amounts that will be collected.

Based on the prices of comparable homes sold in Wyckoff over the last year, the study predicts average selling prices of $1.25 million per home. While the homes are large, the yards will likely be small because most of the site is steep slopes. Also, the price per home may be overstated, given the ongoing slow-down in the housing market.  Using current tax rates for the Wyckoff and Ramapo school districts, the study shows $103,000 will be raised in school taxes ($65,000 in Wyckoff school taxes and $38,000 for Ramapo) but costs will be $178,000 annually.

A $75,000 annual deficit
The cost per student per year for Wyckoff is $12,696. The cost per student per year for the Ramapo High School district is $15,843. These amounts are the cost in local tax dollars only, including transportation, which are sometimes excluded from studies comparing the cost per student among districts. These costs do not include state or federal subsidies, which are likely to decline, increasing the local cost per student.

The study assumes nine elementary school children and four high school-age students will attend local schools from the development. There will likely be 45 bedrooms (five per house) and families with children tend to buy these sorts of new homes in Wyckoff, not retirees. Multiplying the cost per student by the number of students shows it will cost $178,000 for school services, while only $103,000 will be raised in school taxes, creating a $75,000 annual deficit.

More pressure on municipal services
The study does not take into account the likely negative impact on municipal services, especially those relying on volunteers. More homes will only put more pressure on them as well.

It clearly makes no sense to chase these ratables when we have alternatives to adding permanently to our local tax burden. State, county, private and our own open space trust fund should be used to purchase the upper end of Deep Voll Ravine and create a nature preserve. Most of the funding required can be attracted from outside Wyckoff. We have been paying heavily into these programs, and it’s time for substantial reinvestment in our own community. Moreover, once the property is acquired, the annual cost of a nature preserve will be very low and the preserve could become the responsibility of the country or a private trust.