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 Lysander and Van Buren 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.
Lysander to vote on tax cap
According to the first draft of the budget, presented to the Lysander Town Board Sept. 20, appropriations for the 2019 budget will total $5,184,442, which is a 5.53 percent increase over the 2018 adopted budget’s $4,912,833.
The tax levy for 2019 will be $2,912,417, a 9.33 percent increase over the 2018 levy of $2,664,325.
For homeowners in the village of Baldwinsville, the tax rate will be about $0.67 per $1,000 of assessed value. Outside the village, the tax rate will be about $1.95 per thousand. The preliminary tax rates are up 5.24 percent from the 2018 rates.
Much of the budget increases can be attributed to the highway department. Supervisor Joe Saraceni said Sept. 20 that Highway Superintendent Jerry Hole originally requested an increase of $1.1 million, which would have depleted the highway department’s fund balance and raised taxes 35 percent.
Hole said the town spends far too little on maintenance, a sentiment Town Engineer Al Yager has echoed several years in a row. Hole said it is difficult to budget for expenses such as emergency repairs, and the town’s fleet is aging.
Saraceni said the preliminary budget reflected a “middle ground” of highway spending. Major components of the highway increase are $569,000 for machinery, parts and repairs, compared to $405,450 in 2018, and increased labor and overtime costs for snow removal. Overall, the preliminary budget shows a 14.21 percent increase in highway spending, from $1,933,348 in 2018 to $2,208,171 in 2019.
Also in the budget are a few new personnel positions. In the parks and recreation department, $30,000 has been budgeted for a recreation leader and $12,000 has been budgeted for summer programming. The budget also adds an aide in the engineering department with a $55,000 salary. Finally, $23,995 has been budgeted for a dog control officer. Former DCOs Dan Boccardo and Rich Billings recently resigned, and the CNY SPCA has taken on dog control responsibilities.
The town is holding a public hearing at 7 p.m. Oct. 18 for a proposed local law to waive the tax cap. The budget public hearing will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1.
Van Buren taxes dip
The town of Van Buren released its tentative budget Oct. 2.
“Anyone reading this budget should understand that this budget has not been reviewed by the town board and it is very possible the town board will make changes,” Comptroller Greg Maxwell said in a release.
Under the first draft of the budget, appropriations for the 2019 budget would total $4,453,060, which is a 10.34 percent decrease from the 2018 adopted budget’s $4,966,653.
The tax levy for 2019 will be $2,571,334, about a 16 percent decrease from the 2018 levy of $3,050,154.
For homeowners in the village of Baldwinsville, the tax rate will be about $1.79 per $1,000 of assessed value. Outside the village, the tax rate will be about $4.08 per thousand.
The first round of budget workshops took place Oct. 16 and reviewed numbers for code enforcement, the town clerk and tax receiver’s office, the town engineer’s office, parks and recreation, and buildings and grounds.
Van Buren has two more days of budget workshops scheduled. On Oct. 23, the town board will meet with the justice department at 6:30 p.m. and the highway department at 7 p.m.
The board will meet with Assessor Theresa Golden at 6 p.m. Oct. 24, and at 6:30 the board will review general numbers as well as the budgets for the supervisor’s office, the town board, the comptroller’s office, Canton Woods Senior Center and special districts.
With a building and equipment upgrades behind them and a reduction in bond anticipation note (BAN) payments for the new highway garage, Van Buren has some breathing room in its budget. The town will pay $109,131 toward the BAN in 2019, down from this year’s payment of $153,600.
Within the town buildings section, equipment and vehicle purchases will decrease from $98,876 this year to $35,000 next year. The town will more than halve its building and property repair costs from $27,400 to $12,000.
The parks and rec department has no expenditures listed for vehicles and equipment. This year, the department has exceeded its budgeted $10,000 for vehicles and equipment by $4,316.62.
The budget public hearing will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 7.
