The town of Cicero’s preliminary budget for 2016 projects an increase of more than $900,000 over the current year’s budget. The first glimpse of the 2016 budget totals $12,966,594, a 7.54 percent jump over 2015’s adopted budget of $12,057,166.
The preliminary budget, which Town Clerk Tracy Cosilmon presented to the town board at its Sept. 23 meeting, shows a 10.7 percent increase in the tax levy — $8,249,919 over this year’s $7,452,276.
“It’s difficult to stay under the tax cap when the cost of doing business keeps going up,” Supervisor Jessica Zambrano said.
Zambrano said about 75 percent of the town’s costs come from state mandates, union contracts and other “costs of doing business.”
The town board voted 4-1 to pass a local law allowing them to exceed the state-mandated tax cap of 0.73 percent; Councilor Mike Becallo cast the only dissenting vote.
Councilor Vern Conway voted for the local law, but expressed his displeasure toward having to raise taxes.
“I’m not in favor of it, but I feel we’ve got to do it,” Conway said.
During the continuation of the public hearing on the tax cap law, several residents shared their opinions, most of them in opposition to exceeding the tax cap.
Resident Deborah Gardner provided the town board with a list of 11 money-saving solutions, including plowing and salting wintry roads only when absolutely needed, closing a park, eliminating one position within the Cicero Police Department and recruiting volunteers and interns for the town.
“If we did everything that Deborah talked about, we still would not be able to pay our bills,” said resident Don Snyder.
Snyder said the town’s money woes date back to the elimination of county sales tax revenue.
“We knew the sales tax was going to disappear years ago,” he said. “Previous administrations did nothing to prepare us for it.”
Snyder suggested eliminating the Cicero Police Department to free up $2.3 million to pay for road repairs and a new highway garage. Currently, the town borrows $800,000 per year to pay for road repairs. Snyder said “consolidating” the CPD with the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office would also allow the town to stop appropriating money from the general fund balance.
“Do I want our police department to disappear? No,” Snyder said. “Our taxes cannot continue to go at the rate they’re going and continue to provide services.”
Resident Doug Wickman, who is married to Supervisor Zambrano, said the town board must consider all possible options for the budget, including the possibility of exceeding the tax cap. Wickman stressed the importance of maintaining highway spending.
“It takes money to maintain our infrastructure. Based on my experience as a civil engineer, I believe the $800,000 the town is currently spending per year is sufficient,” Wickman said. “Spending less or reducing this effort will increase costs in the future.”
Resident Tom Beaulieu expressed his opposition to exceeding the tax cap.
“You can’t build roads and not put a dime into maintaining any of them,” he said. “The only way we’re not going to run out of money is if we stop spending at the rate we are.”
According to the 2014 Annual Update Document, a financial report prepared by town comptroller Shirlie Stuart, Cicero will not be able to sustain itself past the year 2019.
