Preliminary budget shows tax rate decrease
By Lauren Young
The Nelson Town Board last week held a public hearing on its preliminary 2019 town budget and, while it was stated the town tax rate will likely decrease this year, what interested residents more at the hearing was the status of the Route 20 sidewalk plowing issue.
The board budgeted $24,000 for sidewalk snow removal for 2019, hired a local company to do the removal and stated that the cost of the snow plowing would be borne by the entire town, not just a district of residents who live where the sidewalks are.
The town’s preliminary 2019 budget is a total $1.5 million, which includes $546,000 to be raised by taxes. The town tax rate will decrease by about one percent, going to $2.73 per every $1,000 in assessed property value from the $2.76 it was in 2018.
“We’re hoping with the numbers that we’ve put together that we can stay under the [state tax] cap,” said Supervisor Roger Bradstreet at the Oct. 24 meeting. “We’re intending to keep the tax rate flat, or close.”
Bradstreet said the town will receive $508,000 in county sales tax revenue this year, and it will use $175,000 of its fund balance to help keep the tax rate lower.
During the budget public hearing, residents asked about the cost of the sidewalk.
Erieville resident Deann Norris asked if the new sidewalks were considered a “new project” instead of extended replacements. “I think I’ve always seen sidewalks in Nelson,” she said. “I wonder why the maintenance needs to differ from the previous care that the sidewalks received.”
Norris said she felt that a “precedence has been established on districts being formed in areas that do not directly benefit the entire township,” and surveyed over 18 other residents to see if they were in favor of bearing the expense of plowing sidewalks in the Hamlet of Nelson — to which she said none were. She asked if the issue could be tabled until “some viable businesses” open in Nelson to see if it will elicit foot traffic.
If the board chooses to spread the cost throughout the township, she asked if the same could be done for the Erieville Water District and both the Erieville and Nelson Street Light Districts.
“That seems to be the most fair way to do this,” she said.
Residents Cal Nichols and Dan Markowski agreed. Markowski said the issue may not mean much to small property owners, but for large property owners like dairy farmers, it is “very concerning because it’s a bigger hurt for those type of people.”
Bradstreet said some board members felt renovating the sidewalks would attract businesses to Nelson, reducing taxes and improving foot traffic. The recent closings of two major businesses in Nelson — Humble Harvest Brewing and Peaks Coffee Company — were “not part of the plan,” he said.
“When we decided to do this, those businesses were there and active, but that would not have been the thing that stopped us or started us,” said Bradstreet.
He said the Department of Transportation (DOT) gave the town $1 million for the project and “basically did all the work.”
While a district was considered, Bradstreet said the board “exhausted” that avenue and felt that residents of the municipality would “want Nelson to step up to the plate and be a community that attracts people,” which is why the sidewalks and its maintenance were considered an asset.
The board, which has budged $24,000 for snow removal, accepted a bid from local company Spruce Ridge Landscape & Design, of Nelson, for this winter’s snow removal, starting at a base price of $7,000. Bradstreet and board members Tammy Hayes and Deborah Kenn voted in favor of its approval, while board members Jen Marti and John Laubscher voted against it.
The public hearing was closed without a motion and the budget is planned to be adopted on Nov. 8. Bradstreet said the adopted budget will not “be much different, if different at all” from what was presented that night.
Also at the meeting, Marti reviewed the updated Comprehensive Plan, which included a few changes after receiving input from the town planning board on Oct. 9. The changes include:
•Strengthening language for better internet and cell service. Although the town government has limited ability to improve conditions on its own, Marti said it can communicate the needs of its residents in a broader effort, undertaken by Madison County and other stakeholders, to improve rural internet and cell service.
•Added language about the important role and function of the lake associations and lakes and expanded the strategy of developing lake watershed management plans for both lakes.
•Expanding opportunities to link equine farms to institutions of higher learning.
•Adding a more detailed description of the road maintenance plan.
A workshop session and SEQR review for the Comprehensive Plan are planned for 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 14, followed by a public hearing scheduled in December.
The next Nelson Town Board meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 8 at the Nelson Town Hall.
