Lysander — Despite pleas from councilors Bob Geraci and Roman Diamond to maintain a higher fund balance, the Lysander Town Board voted 3-2 to approve the 2016 budget Monday night.
Supervisor John Salisbury, Deputy Supervisor Melinda Shimer and Councilor Andy Reeves voted to appropriate $960,000 from the town’s fund balance to decrease taxes in 2016 by an average of 21.18 percent.
“I have never seen a board argue about how much of a tax decrease to give,” Salisbury said.
“I am because what you’re doing is irresponsible,” Geraci replied.
Geraci cited the board’s history of maintaining the town’s fund balance at 20 percent of its expenditures and questioned why Salisbury, Shimer and Reeves were deviating from that pattern by approving the appropriation of $960,000, which brings the town’s unappropriated fund balance to 15.3 percent of its expenditures for next year.
“The majority of us felt that [a fund balance of] 15.3 percent is the magic number,” Salisbury said.
Diamond said that the town board has “championed” a 20 percent fund balance during Salisbury’s tenure and said that comptroller David Rahrle recommended the 20 percent figure, which still would have reduced taxes by 13.72 percent.
“This board inherited a 20 percent fund balance,” Diamond said. “Twice they raised taxes and still maintained a 20 percent fund balance.”
“He said he could live with [15 percent],” Reeves said.
Diamond said the tax cut is “possibly politically motivated” because the board did not discuss appropriating more of the fund balance to lower taxes before the Nov. 3 election.
Geraci also questioned the timing of his colleagues’ move. He said Salisbury told him Nov. 6 — one day after the public hearing for the budget — that he wanted to keep the fund balance at 20 percent. Salisbury presented the 20 percent option to the Messenger on Nov. 6 as well, but at the Nov. 12 budget work session, Reeves said the JAM coalition’s goal was to bring the fund balance down to 15 percent.
continued — “By Nov. 13, you dropped it down to 15 percent for no reason whatsoever,” Geraci said. “I’m sorry to say I think it is political. You can get away with this in Albany, but these are our friends and neighbors.”
Geraci and Diamond weren’t the only naysayers to JAM’s tax cut. Several town officials spoke against their plan during the public comment period. Highway Superintendent Gene Dinsmore said the town could have used some of the fund balance for other expenses as well as giving residents a tax cut.
“Not only are we not going to do the few things we’d like to do, but we’re going to strip the fund balance,” Dinsmore said.
Planning board member Hugh Kimball asked the board not to “deplete” the fund balance.
“Everybody likes a tax decrease, especially me, but not to the point where it reaches levels below where our comptroller recommended,” Kimball said. “Please make the cut smaller and save more for future problems.”
Supervisor-elect Joe Saraceni, who ran unopposed, said using a large amount of the fund balance is “dangerous” and would have “implications in this town for decades to come.” Saraceni also said cutting the highway department’s spending on road maintenance “totally abandons” the town’s plan to maintain its roads.
“We’ve had the public hearing,” Salisbury said.
“Not with these numbers,” Kimball said. The budget presented at the public hearing Nov. 5 showed taxes would remain stable.
Despite the opposition, Salisbury stood by his administration’s record and the adopted budget.
“You can’t say we haven’t taken hits on increasing taxes,” he said of the 37.8 tax increase in 2014. “Every time we do something it is for the benefit of the town. … We are elected to do what is best for the town.”
Budget specifics
Expenditures for 2016 will total $4,771,248, which is a 3.86 percent decrease from the 2015 total of $4,963,026. The board added $900 in expenditures for Chase Cemetery and $100,000 to create a highway reserve fund.
continued — The board will appropriate $960,000 of the fund balance to bring the tax levy to $2,227,732, a 23 percent decrease from 2015’s levy of $2,895,862.
Inside the village of Baldwinsville, the tax rate will be 39.02 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, which is a 43.8 percent decrease over the 2015 tax rate of 69.47 cents. A resident whose home is assessed at $100,000 can expect to pay $39.02 next year.
Outside the village, the total tax rate will be about $1.65, which represents a 21.18 percent decrease from last year’s rate of $2.09 per thousand. A homeowner with a $100,000 house can expect to pay $164.61 in 2016.
