By Ashley M. Casey
Staff Writer
For the first time since 2013, the state’s property tax cap will be a true 2 percent in 2019. State law mandates that property tax increases in municipal budgets must not exceed 2 percent or the factor of inflation, whichever is lower, unless municipalities pass a local law waiving the tax cap. The law came into effect in 2012, and municipalities have long bemoaned the measure as too restrictive.
The towns of Cicero, Clay and Salina continue to work on their budgets for 2019, but they have released the raw numbers of their first drafts. Keep in mind that these numbers are preliminary and are subject to change.
Cicero
According to the preliminary budget, appropriations for the 2019 budget not including special districts total $14,676,708, which is nearly a 20 percent increase over the 2018 budget’s $12,245,009.
The preliminary tax levy for 2019 is $10,387,983, an 11.47 percent increase over the 2018 levy of $9,319,167.
Notable expenditures in the preliminary budget include:
• Debt service for 2019 will be $565,726, compared to $289,503 in 2018
• Public safety expenditures total $1,638,816, of which $1,494,574 is personnel
• Equipment and improvements for the town parks will cost $512,164
• Highway machinery expenditures are listed as $968,550, compared to $614,500 in 2018
The Cicero Town Board voted Oct. 10 to waive the tax cap. The public hearing on the preliminary budget will take place at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14.
The budget is available to view in the town clerk’s office. The office is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Clay
Town Clerk Jill Hageman-Clark presented the preliminary budget for 2019 to the Clay Town Board at its Oct. 1 meeting.
As of right now, appropriations for the 2019 budget will total $15.6 million, which represents an increase of $828,000, or 5.6 percent, over the adopted budget for 2018.
Residents of the village of North Syracuse are looking at a tax rate of $12.44 per $1,000 of assessed value, which is a decrease of 4.2 percent from the 2018 tax rate.
Outside the village, the tentative tax rate is up 2.3 percent to $17.68 per thousand. Since Clay’s taxes are calculated on a partial assessment, a resident whose home is valued at $100,000 can expect to pay $6.20 more in 2019.
In his budget message, Supervisor Damian Ulatowski highlighted the following components of the 2019 budget:
• Paving: Based on repairs recommended by the Cornell roads program, the town has allocated $1,950,000 for paving.
• Personnel: Salaries, wages and benefits represent $304,000 of the 2019 budget increase.
• Parking and building improvements: $75,000 will go toward resurfacing the parking lots at Clay Park Central, Town Hall and the Clay Senior Center. The town will spend $40,000 on new siding for the Senior Center and the highway garage.
• Vehicles: The town will purchase a new dog control van for $35,000 and two small dump trucks for $50,000.
Ulatowski said the water department will spend $876,000 on equipment to upgrade water meters. The money for this project is already available in the water district funds. Of the 5,219 5/8th inch meters in the Uniform Water District, 2,403 need to be replaced and 2,816 can be upgraded to radio-read capability. The town will convert 464 larger-diameter meters as well.
The water meter upgrades will pay for themselves in about four and a half years, Ulatowski said. The new equipment will allow the department to reduce staff by one employee and more accurately measure water consumption.
Salina
“This budget continues to provide our residents with services they need at an affordable cost,” Salina Supervisor Mark Nicotra said in a release. “With the tough economic climate that surrounds us all, the proposed 2019 budget increases taxes by only a minimal amount.”
According to Nicotra, a homeowner outside the village of Liverpool with a home assessed at $100,000 will pay an additional $1.10 in taxes per month. Inside the village of Liverpool, owners of a home valued at $100,000 valued home can expect to pay an additional 59 cents per month.
Some of the costs and savings in the preliminary budget are:
• Sanitation spending is dipping by $120,560
• $20,000 less to CHA for engineering services
• New York state retirement benefits are down $22,000, but health insurance has increased by $77,400
• Paving will be an additional $220,000 next year
• Personnel and maintenance costs in the parks and recreation department will rise by $60,000 in 2019
The public hearing on the 2019 budget and on waiving the tax cap will take place at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 22.
The budget is available to view in the town clerk’s office, which is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
