Saddled with a drastically reduced county sales tax allotment, the village of Liverpool is girding for possible budget cuts as it prepares its 2011-2012 spending plan.
Mayor Gary White has called a special pre-budget meeting for 7 p.m. Monday Jan. 31 to alert residents about the seriousness of the situation
“I encourage the public to attend this pre-budget session to learn more about how the county’s sales tax decision affects us,” White said.
The village’s current budget is $2.7 million, and $550,000 of that came from its share of the 4 percent county sales tax. Last May 4, the Onondaga County Legislature voted unanimously to retain a larger share of the $280 million it collects in sales tax annually.
The village’s yearly allotment was slashed by two-thirds, to $281,000. The new revenue-sharing agreement will last for a decade.
At the Jan. 17 village board meeting White reported that he’d received a letter from Onondaga County Chief Financial Officer James Rowley confirming that Liverpool’s application for its reduced share of sales tax revenue had been received and approved.
Last November, mayors from the county’s 15 villages had been shocked to learn that they must apply for the money to show that it would be spent on “infrastructure projects” that had to be personally approved by County Executive Joanie Mahoney.
Negotiations with Rowley resulted in a revised agreement which allows villages to spend the money on road maintenance, repairs and public-works projects.
While the mayors welcomed that concession on the county’s part, the budget shortfall remains a serious issue for towns and villages which provide services such as police, DPW, codes enforcement and local justice courts.
White hopes residents will indicate which services are most important to them at Monday’s meeting. Trustee Nick Kochan, Liverpool’s deputy mayor, said the village faces “some very hard choices.”
LPD issued 1,547 tickets in 2010
Liverpool Police Chief Bill Becker informed the village board of trustees at their Jan. 17 meeting, that officers issued 74 citations for violations of the state’s vehicle and traffic laws during December 2010. Three arrests were made for driving while intoxicated, 15 traffic accidents were investigated and 68 parking tickets were issued.
Officers made 260 residential checks during the month while investigating a total of 210 complaints.
The LPD arrested 13 people in December with 24 criminal charges filed including four felony, 18 misdemeanor and two violations.
Becker also issued an annual report for 2010. Over the course of last year, officers arrested 253 persons, filed 344 criminal charges, made 16 arrest on warrants, issued 462 warning tickets for minor motor-vehicle violations, and wrote 1,547 traffic tickets.
Over the past 12 months, LPD made 34 DWI arrests, investigated 108 accidents and issued 195 parking tickets. Officers made 5,089 property checks last year and investigated 3,176 complaints.
