The East Syracuse village board voted unanimously Monday night to override the property tax cap put in place by Gov. Andrew Cuomo last year, though raising taxes is not the intent, Mayor Danny Liedka said.
“Passing the local law is a safety net to keep us out of a pickle,” Liedka said. “This is more of a safety net rather than a free pass to raise taxes.”
The law mandates that the adopted budget for 2012 in towns, and 2012-13 for villages, cannot mandate a tax levy increase of more than 2 percent. An override is available to create a local law allowing an increase of more than 2 percent, but that stipulation can only be signed into law with a 60 percent vote of the village board.
The local law was passed by the village board unanimously at Monday’s regular village board meeting. East Syracuse is the first village in Onondaga County to pass such a law.
Unseen circumstances or under-estimated state mandates could push the village over the tax cap. Should a town or village’s levy increase more than 2 percent without the override, the municipality could be subject to fines.
Taxes have remained flat in the village in recent years, Liedka said.
