Tax rate to increase two percent this year
The tentative 2017-18 budget for the village of Cazenovia is completed and will be the subject of a public hearing next Monday, April 3, as part of the village board’s regular monthly meeting.
The coming year’s total budget is $2,747,628, which is not quite a $13,000 increase from the previous year’s budget. “This is about as close to zero percent budgeting as you can get,” said Mayor Kurt Wheeler during a board budget work session on March 28.
The tentative budget calls for a 2 percent tax rate increase on village residents. This will increase the tax rate from $5.80 per every $1,000 of assessed value on village homes to $5.92 per $1,000 — or an increase of 12 cents per $1,000.
Wheeler said that more than $3 million was added in assessed value to the village tax rolls this year, which is the most in at least 10 years. This increase does not include the new Hampton Inn hotel or Empire Farmstead Brewery — both of which received 10-year tax deferments from the state — or the Cazenovia Market project, which is currently undergoing a legal challenge. If the Cazenovia Market project moves forward as planned, the village can expect next year to probably double this year’s $3 million increase in assessed value in the village, he said.
Also at the March 28 meeting, the village board held a public hearing on a proposed local law to authorize the village to exceed the state-mandated 2 percent tax levy cap for the 2017-18 budget and fiscal year. The board proposes and approves this local law every year.
No members of the public attended the public hearing, which was closed without comment. The board then voted unanimously to approve the law.
The village board will hold a public hearing on the tentative budget at 7 p.m. Monday, April 3, in the village office. A copy of the current draft of the tentative village budget can be found on the clerk’s page of the village website or by contacting the clerk at the village office.
