The Liverpool Village Board of Trustees doesn’t want to get taken by surprise, financially speaking. So at its April 23 meeting the board unanimously approved the transfer of $120,000 from the village’s unreserved fund balance to a new retirement pension reserve fund.
The $12,000 amount represents a typical annual levy which the village must pay into the state pension system.
Liverpool Mayor Gary White said the village transferred the money from its unreserved fund balance on the advice of both its auditors and its attorneys. “We’re putting the money aside as a hedge against future increases,” White said.
Increased pension costs have plagued municipalities and school districts across New York state for more than a decade.
“Now, as long as they don’t do anything crazy in Albany, we’ll be all right,” White said.
The village’s unreserved fund balance, money which is set aside to take care of emergency expenditures, now stands at approximately $680,000.
The trustees also unanimously approved the $2,625,665 budget for 2012-13. As a result, the tax rate for village property-owners will go down by 15 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. In 2011-12, the rate was set at $12.40 per $1,000 of valuation, but for 2012-13, it would stand at $12.25 per $1,000 of valuation.
Two public hearings were scheduled to be conducted prior to the trustees’ next meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, May 21. Village residents and business owners are invited to comment an MS4 Stormwater Annual Report and on a proposed local law overriding the state’s 2 percent property tax cap, both on May 21, at Village Hall, 310 Sycamore St.
Seven DWI arrests
Liverpool Police Chief Bill Becker informed the village board of trustees at their April 23 meeting, that officers issued 261 citations for violations of the state’s vehicle and traffic laws during March along with 94 warnings.
Seven arrests were made for driving while intoxicated, five traffic accidents were investigated and 18 parking tickets were issued
Officers made 282 residential checks during the month while investigating a total of 440 incidents.
