Board offers no support to split cost of tax office

It costs the district only about $18,500 a year now.
SHARON, Pa. -- The school board isn't interested in the city's suggestion that it pick up 50 percent of the cost of running the wage tax office the two taxing bodies share.
James Wolf, school district business manager, said the city recently approached school officials asking for an increase in the amount of money the school contributes for that office in the municipal building which collects the 1 percent wage tax which is divided evenly between the city and school district.
It costs about $100,000 a year to staff it and the city wants the school district to pay $50,000, Wolf said.
It costs the district only about $18,500 a year now, based on a formula worked out years ago that has the district pay 3.5 percent on all collections up to $475,000 and 1 percent on any collections over that.
Another way: Wolf checked with a number of private companies and said he can get the school district's share of the job done for $17,000 or $18,000 a year.
It would be in the city's best interest to join the school district in contracting out the service, he told the board Wednesday.
No one on the board offered any support for the city's request for $50,000 a year and several members suggested Wolf relay his findings to the city but also said the school district should be willing to negotiate.
Wolf said the school board might be willing to increase the collection rate to 3.5 percent on all money collected, boosting its share of running the office to about $22,000 a year.