Palmerton Area School District's 2014-15 preliminary budget calls for a 2.8-percent increase in property taxes.

By a unanimous measure, the school board on Tuesday agreed to make the 2014-15 preliminary general fund budget available for public inspection in the business office at 680 Fourth St., Palmerton, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.The proposed preliminary budget calls for a 1.44-mill increase, that if approved, would raise the property tax rate from 51.44 to 52.88 mills.That would mean a person with a home valued at $100,000 and assessed at $50,000 would pay $2,644, or $72 more in property taxes to the district next year.Business manager Diane Serfass said that under the Act 1 Index, the most the board could raise taxes by is 1.44 mills.As required by Act 1 of 2006, the board intends to seek approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, or the Carbon County Court, for all referendum exceptions for which the district qualifies.On written request by any school district resident or taxpayer, the school district will provide a copy of the referendum exception application.As of now, total revenues call for $27,511,414, with expenditures at $28,698,457.Projected increases include $158,024 in capital requests; a 6-percent increase in medical insurance; a 4.47-percent increase in Public School Employees Retirement System (PSERS); an 11-percent increase in school liability insurance; $112,000 for math, computer applications, and American Cultures textbooks; and a $210,000 rollover for elementary series books, which would come from the fund balance.The biggest expenses, Serfass said, are employee wages (37.67 percent), and employee benefits (22.37 percent)."There will be changes to the preliminary budget," Serfass said. "We start out at our worst case scenario."A zero-mill, half-mill, three-quarter-mill, and 1-mill increase are among the other scenarios Serfass said will be presented to the board for its consideration."We'll work through the budget right through May," she said. "It will be a lengthy, cumbersome budget."In June, the board adopted the 2013-14 budget with a zero-mill increase, which left the millage rate at 51.44 mills. That meant a person with a home valued at $100,000 and assessed at $50,000 again paid $2,572 in property taxes to the district.In a related matter, the board approved the following designations, in accordance with fund balance policy 620, as of June 30, 2013:• Committed fund balance, $3,276,779, for the purposes of retirement rate increases; CCTI increased enrollments; unexpected special education costs; charter school increased enrollments; and other educational expenses.• Assigned fund balance, $3,113,756, for the purposes of balancing the 2013-14 budget; tax appeals; tax base stabilization; textbooks; compensated absences; Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) mandates; and ongoing building repairs.In addition, the board authorized the superintendent and business manager to make, and release payments for the remaining December accounts payable.