LIVERPOOL — At its April 12 meeting the Liverpool Village Board of Trustees conducted a public hearing on the proposed 2021-2022 village budget. Although a handful of residents attended, no one spoke at the hearing.
The proposed $2.6 million budget calls for spending $86,500 for capital purchases, including a new police cruiser for $40,000, a new mini-excavator/sidewalk plow for $23,000 and a lease payment of $23,500 for a new dump truck.
Last year’s village budget came in at $2,697,605, while the proposed budget calls for nearly $90,000 less spending, a total of $2,619,391.
“It’s a very conservative budget,” said Village Clerk Mary Ellen Sims. “The department heads all tightened their spending plans.”
Mayor Gary White pointed out that village revenues are significantly reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our income from court fines is way down,” he said.
Overall, the village’s estimated loss of revenue was $167,000.
“So we’ve lowered our budget, and we’ve lowered our tax rate,” White said.
The budget would reduce the village’s tax rate from $12.45 per $1,000 of assessed value to $11.95 per $1,000. Last year the town of Salina conducted a reassessment of village properties.
“Depending on their reassessments, some village homeowners will may see small decreases [in their village tax bills],” the mayor said, “while others will see no change, and others may see a small increase.”
Along with the taxes, property owners must also pay a $130 annual sewer-fund assessment.
The trustees voted to adopt the proposed 2021-22 budget.
Part of the adopted budget includes raises for the mayor and trustees.
This is the first time in three years the board looked at raising the salaries for these positions.
By adopting the proposed 2021-22 spending plan, the trustees raised Mayor Gary White’s salary by $6,000, from $10,000 per year to $16,000. Each trustee — Matthew Devendorf, Christina Fadden, Michael LaMontagne and Jason Recor — will each have their salaries increased from $5,000 to $6,000.
In April 2018, the trustees passed a budget that raised their salaries for the first time since 2001. White’s $8,000 salary went up to $10,000, and the trustees’ $4,000 salaries were raised to $5,000.
“It’s always uncomfortable talking about giving yourself a raise,” White said. “But we’ve been kicking that can down the road for a long time.”
The mayor believes the salary increases could help attract future trustees.
Deputy Mayor Christina Fadden agreed.
In 2018, she observed, “These raises are a small price to pay to recruit the kind of quality individuals we need on the board.”
L’pool lags behind
At that time, Fadden researched the pay scales of office-holders in nearby communities and said Liverpool lagged behind.
She found, for instance, that the mayor of Baldwinsville makes $15,000 a year, while each of its six trustees are paid $5,250 annually.
Last year, White also did some research, finding that nine of 15 local village mayors out-earned him by thousands of dollars. The mayor of North Syracuse, for instance, is paid $20,583 and its trustees earn $7,700 annually. Besides North Syracuse, mayors and trustees make more money in Baldwinsville, Chittenango, East Syracuse, Fayetteville, Manlius, Minoa, Skaneateles and Solvay.
“And the villages of Chittenango, East Syracuse and Skaneateles have well-paid administrators as well as an elected mayor,” White said. “Here in Liverpool, I end up doing the work that a village administrator would do. It becomes a full-time job.”
