The Fenner Town Board approved its final 2018 town budget on Monday, with a drop of 59 cents in the final tax rate from what was originally projected in the preliminary budget last month.
The final $1,043,656 million budget includes $394,500 to be raised by taxes, with a tax rate of $3.28 per every $1,000 of assessed value.
While the 2018 town tax rate marks a 20-cent (6 percent) increase from what it was in 2017, it is a far cry from the original assumption that the town tax rate for 2018 would be $3.87 per every $1,000 of assessed value, or a 79-cent increase. The difference between the preliminary budget tax rate and the final budget tax rate was due to the town receiving higher-than-expected revenues — in county sales tax, mortgage tax, storm-related rebuilding funding from the federal government and a share in the Oneida Indian Nation’s Chittenango casino intake — as well as a clerical error, said Supervisor David Jones.
“We’re very happy the budget is done,” Jones said during a Nov. 20 special meeting the board held to approve the final budget.
The board previously held a public budget hearing on Nov. 8 and a special budget meeting on Nov. 15.
