On April 13, the Liverpool Village Board of Trustees approved a 2015-16 village budget for $2,378,894, calling for an increase of $70,000 in spending. The tax rate will rise by 1.64 percent, but the annual sewer-fund assessment will be reduced from $150 to $130 per year.
Village Clerk Mary Ellen Sims outlined the proposed spending plan at the trustees’ March 16 meeting and reported that the sewer fund will be $199,000, resulting in a lower annual assessment. For the past several years, all properties in the village have been assessed a $150-per-unit sewer rent charge.
With the new budget at $2,378,894, a home assessed at $100,000 will received a village tax bill of $1,245.
Cemetery recognized
Also at the April 13 meeting, former mayor James Farrell, now a member of the Village Cemetery Committee, reported to the trustees that Liverpool Cemetery has been nominated for the New York State Historic Registry. The committee is hiring a consultant to prepare applications to elicit similar recognition from the federal government so that the 169-year-old graveyard could become eligible for state and federal renovation funds.
Litigation possible
On a separate matter, attorney Bob Ventre, representing Liverpool Properties LLC, complained to the trustees that the village has stalled progress on plans for Basin Block improvements. Liverpool Properties, owned by local landlord Val Lamont, owns several Basin Block parcels including those housing the White Water Pub and Limp Lizard Barbecue.
Lamont has proposed the construction of a new mid-block parking lot to be shared by the two taverns. Drainage is a major concern on the low-level Basin Block, and Ventre said that village inaction has prevented Lamont from installing drainage pipes on the site.
Mayor Gary White disputed the lawyer’s assertion.
“This has been on our agenda since September of last year,” White said. “And we’ve never received a formal request [from Liverpool Properties] for a drainage-pipe easement.”
Depending on his client’s wishes, Ventre said, litigation against the village remains a possibility.
Both the planning and village boards have supported all the various developments on the Basin Block, White said. The developers include Liverpool Properties; John Gormel, who owns the Barking Gull at 116 S. Willow St.; and JGB Properties, which has proposed a major mixed-use development along lower First Street and South Willow.
“If we need to, we’ll hold an additional board meeting to iron this out,” White said. “The legal people need to come to some kind of understanding.”
Meanwhile, village residents and property owners are invited to attend the continuation of a public hearing about the proposed Local Law B to amend the village noise ordinance at 7 p.m. Monday, May 18, at Village Hall, 310 Sycamore St.
Twenty-one arrests
At the April 13 village board meeting, Liverpool Police Chief Don Morris reported that Liverpool Police officers made 203 traffic stops and issued 153 citations for violations of the state’s vehicle and traffic laws during March. In addition, seven traffic accidents were investigated and 25 parking tickets were issued.
Officers made 200 residential property checks last month while answering a total of 404 complaints and calls for service.
The LPD arrested 21 persons in March on a total of 27 criminal charges.
