With little fanfare, the towns of Cicero, Salina and Clay have passed their 2014 budgets. All include minimal tax increases, and none include cuts to programming or resident services.
Read on for specifics for your town budget.
Cicero
The town of Cicero approved its $11,713,303 budget Oct. 23. According to Cicero Supervisor Jim Corl, the total represents about a $230,000 budget-to-budget increase over 2013.
“[The increase] can be attributed to increase in health insurance costs, investments in the codes office, such as additional staff to implement the recommendations of Bernie English in his operational report, replacement of out of date equipment at Town Hall, improvements to our park and investments in our infrastructure,” Corl said.
The budget highlights include the following:
Maintaining the town’s long-term roads program, which sets up a plan to repair Cicero’s deteriorating infrastructure with the aid of the Cornell Roads Program
Funding the five-year vehicle maintenance program for the highway department
Adding a codes enforcement director and three full-time officers
Replacement of the cooling tower at Town Hall
Adding a police officer in 2013 and another in 2014, increasing patrols during peak times
Making improvements to Skyway Park
Eliminating duplication of services at Skyway and Central parks
The budget will utilize $695,000 of the town’s fund balance as well as $900,000 of its capital fund.
The total tax increase amounts to about $0.11 per $1,000 of assessed value, or $11 on a $100,000 house. That’s well within the state’s 2 percent tax cap.
The budget, along with a progress report penned by Corl, is available on the town’s website, ciceronewyork.net.
Clay
Taxpayers in the town of Clay will see a 1.62 percent increase in their property taxes, which amounts to about $4 per household.
Clay approved its budget at its Nov. 6 board meeting. The budget includes very few changes from last year, save for the usual increases in employee and benefit costs.
The budget is available on the town’s website, townofclay.org.
Salina
Salina’s budget calls for a tax increase of $18.48 on a $100,000 house outside the village of Liverpool; homeowners inside the village will pay an additional $25.68 per $100,000 of assessed value next year.
“With the challenging financial times, Salina continues to keep a watchful eye on the bottom line while maintaining the services residents expect,” said Salina Supervisor Mark Nicotra in a release. “Because of the due diligence and cooperation between town board members, the 2014 budget provides tax stability with an outlook towards future infrastructure needs. When town board members and department heads work together, all the residents of Salina benefit.”
Salina’s budget can be found at salina.ny.us.
