Homeowners in the village of North Syracuse won’t see much of a difference in their tax bills for the 2015-16 fiscal year. Clerk/Treasurer Dianne Kufel reported at the village board’s April 23 meeting that the tax levy is up by 0.37 percent over the previous year.
The village’s total appropriations are $4,951,073, which is $278,108 less than the 2014-15 total of $5,229,181.
“Basically, all spending has been kept at bay,” Kufel said.
The village is seeking to raise $2,805,513 in taxes this year, a slight increase from the 2014-15 levy of $2,795,145.
“All the work we’ve put in is reflected in this low increase,” Mayor Mark Atkinson said.
Residents of the town of Cicero, who make up 36.57 percent of the village’s tax base, will see a slight tax increase to $9.75 per $1,000 of assessed value. In other words, a homeowner whose property is assessed at $120,000 will pay $1,169.88 this year, $2.46 more than in 2014-15.
Clay residents, who make up 63.43 of the village’s tax base, will see their taxes dip slightly this year. Based on a partial assessment value, a Clay house worth $120,000 is assessed at $5,196 this year. The new tax rate is $225.19 per $1,000 of assessed value, so the owner of that $120,000 house will pay the village $1,170.06 this year. That’s 22 cents less than the 2014-15 fiscal year’s tax bill.
Atkinson said the biggest contributing factor to the tax increase was the cost of pensions and health care.
“We’ve been absorbing those increases the last few years,” he said.
The village will use $77,027 of its fund balance for “pension smoothing” and will apply $81,000 of the fund balance toward capital expenses.
