125078574_web1_slaying_suspect

Troopers don’t believe slaying suspect has Pa. ties

US closes probes into 3 senators over their stock trades

EXETER &mdash; Wyoming Area School Board passed a final proposed budget Wednesday with no property tax increase, avoiding &mdash; at least for now &mdash; a 4.2 percent increase that had been included in a preliminary budget passed in January.
				Business Consultant Tom Melone outlined numerous things that have changed since then, thanks to the economic slowdown of the COVID-19 pandemic. It&rsquo;s a litany he&rsquo;s done at other districts where he serves the same role, and that other business managers have given as well.
				Wyoming Area faces an estimated loss of $376,689 in decreased property tax income, $363,125 lost in earned income tax, $79,440 lost in real estate transfer taxes, and smaller losses in investment earnings and delinquent taxes, for a total estimated loss of $876,129.
				The good news: Property tax income this year was higher than expected, while health insurance costs are below anticipated increases, along with reductions in salary, benefits, transportation and supplies, and the district hasn&rsquo;t had to dip into a contingency fund. All told, Melone said that should add about $900,000 to the coffers.
				Melone warned much of the good news was one-time savings that won&rsquo;t be around next year. For now, the bottom line in the proposed final budget is that a tax increase can be avoided by spending most of an estimated $2.1 million fund balance. the budget projects it will be down to $656,151 by June 30, 2021, the end of the upcoming fiscal year. The board must pass a final budget by June 30, and could re-introduce a tax hike if more information makes the numbers worse rather than better by then.
				Melone also relayed some bad news to all homeowners in the area. He said he has been told there may be a change in the amount of money the district gets from legalized gambling, which is passed through to homeowners as a tax break known as the Homestead Exemption.
				Wyoming Area gets about $470,000, he said, which translates into about a $92 exemption for each eligible person. That could be cut in half, he added, though he&rsquo;s still awaiting more definite numbers.
				Superintendent Janet Serino also gave a brief update on graduation plans. She said nothing substantial has changed since a letter was sent out and posted on the district website. The district still plans a vehicle parade on June 5, the intended graduation day, that will start at the secondary center and take students and families past the bell tower at the stadium with the bell ringing. It will travel Wyoming Avenue through West Pittston, Exeter and Wyoming, concluding at Slocum Avenue in West Wyoming.
				Following the parade, a video celebration will be posted on the district YouTube channel. Serino said that this week students will start taking individual turns putting on a cap and gown and walking across the auditorium stage to have a photo taken, and flip their tassel to the other side of their graduation caps, for use in the video.
				More than that depends on the status the county is in regarding state restrictions on crowd sizes and public activities, but the district has set Aug. 1 as a tentative date to honor students in more traditional ways.

Wyoming Area passes budget with no tax hike