Last year, the town of Lysander caused a stir among residents when the tax rate for 2014 jumped nearly 37 percent. In 2015, residents can breathe a little easier — taxes are down.
The Baldwinsville Messenger recently sat down with Town Supervisor John Salisbury, Councilor Andy Reeves and Comptroller David Rahrle to discuss Lysander’s 2015 budget.
The expenditures for the proposed budget total $4,963,026, which is a 3.6 percent increase over the 2014 adopted budget’s $4,789,071.
The town projects a 24.6 percent increase in revenue: $1,873,164, up from last year’s $1,503,050.
The proposed 2015 tax levy totals $2,895,862, down $16,519 from the 2014 levy of $2,912,021.
The current tax rate inside the village of Baldwinsville is 81.73 cents per $1,000 of assessed value and is expected to decrease by nearly 15 percent to 69.47 cents per thousand. A B’ville homeowner with a house assessed at $100,000 currently pays the town $81.73 and would pay $69.47 in 2015.
For residents who live outside the village in the town of Lysander, the current tax rate of $2.16 per thousand is expected to decrease by 3.2 percent to about $2.09 per thousand. Currently, a Lysander homeowner with a $100,000 house pays $216.08 in town taxes; next year, that same homeowner would pay $208.85.
Lysander will appropriate $194,000 from its fund balance for next year’s budget as well.
Salisbury said the uptick in revenue comes from the town expects to make off the Lysander Radisson Community Ice Arena. The town will spend $350,000 on the arena next year and expects to collect $400,000 in revenue.
“The ice rink is a wash because we have a $50,000 bond payment,” Salisbury said.
Reeves also credited the highway department with helping to improve the budget.
“[The department] showed some shifting of some jobs and how that would increase the efficiency of the program,” Reeves said.
Salisbury said the town has been able to complete many road repairs in 2014, helped in part by a 2013 Cornell University study of road conditions, drainage and other factors in highway use. The town is revising its highway plan for 2015.
Reeves said other town departments have done some “very creative restructuring” for the 2015 budget. The town has used existing staff to cover the work of retired Parks and Recreation Director Ann Smiley and retired deputy tax receiver Betty Nardelli.
A public hearing for the 2015 budget will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, in the auditorium of the Lysander Town Hall, located at 8220 Loop Road in Baldwinsville.
