New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced last month that municipalities must not raise property taxes by more than 0.73 percent next year, down from the 1.56 percent tax cap in 2015 and the 2 percent tax cap in 2014. “It’s going to be a difficult year for municipalities,” Van Buren Supervisor Claude Sykes said at the Aug. 4 Van Buren Town Board meeting. “We’ve asked the departments to give us a bare-bones budget.” While municipal budgets aren’t due until November, Sykes said Van Buren department heads are already working on their 2016 finances. “Albany thinks we’re miracle workers to try to solve all the tax problems on the backs of local governments, where they already get the bang for their buck, ” Sykes said. Councilor Pat Dickman also expressed frustration with the state-mandated tax cap. She said Van Buren has worked to consolidate costs in the past several years and no longer has much room for cuts. In addition to the preliminary budget discussion, the board approved the following resolutions:Also on the agenda