Unless the Cicero Town Board makes further amendments to its 2020 budget at its next session on Nov. 7, residents of the town can expect their town taxes to increase by 2.43% next year.
According to Zillow.com, the average home value in Cicero is just above $150,000. A homeowner with a home assessed at $150,000 would pay about $742, up about $17 from 2019.
The preliminary budget calls for expenses to increase by 8.9% to $15.39 million. Growth in the town’s overall assessment will help spread out the burden of the spending increases, and the town will also use $2.175 million of its fund balance to offset the increases.
Overall, property taxes in the town will increase by about $450,000.
The budget calls for a 2.5% wage increase for town employees, paying down $1.88 million in debt, and spending $825,000 on paving projects.
At a brief public hearing on the budget held Oct. 30, three residents commented on the budget.
Lori Worm was critical of the consistent expense increases over the past few years. Worm, who moved to the town in 2013, detailed the growth in spending since 2015, when the town budget was just under $10 million.
“I feel like our taxes have been going up at a higher rate than inflation and everything else,” she said. “You are crushing the taxpayers.”
Don Snyder of Mud Mill Road complimented the board and said he feels like he gets good value for his town taxes, particularly in comparison to the school and county taxes he pays, which make up the lion’s share of his property tax bill.
Snyder said he’s concerned with the age of some of the vehicles in the Cicero Highway Department’s fleet, and he urged the board to create an equipment replenishment fund so they can pay cash for new vehicles rather than borrowing for those costs.
The board scheduled another work session on the 2020 budget for Nov. 7 at 10 a.m., at which they will consider comments from the public hearing and may make additional changes to the budget prior to adoption.
