VILLAGE OF FAYETTEVILLE – The Fayetteville Village Board spent the better part of its March 16 meeting going over aspects of its proposed 2022-2023 budget.
According to Mayor Mark Olson, tipping fees for garbage disposal and recycling through the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency (OCRRA) will have gone up a total of about $40,000 for the village since 2020.
Meanwhile, the municipality’s court revenue has dwindled from a figure above $50,000 to right around $12,000 over the last three years, this despite maintained operating costs. Olson said the revenue drop is, among other “cumulative effects,” the result of fewer arrests for marijuana possession and fewer speeding and parking tickets being issued.
For the second year in a row, however, the village does not have plans to exceed the New York State tax cap.
Additionally, the tax rate for Fayetteville residents is set to be maintained at $7.20 per thousand.
“This is either the sixth or seventh year without an increase of that rate,” Olson said. “This budget continues the tradition of putting money away for future purchases and reserves so that we can set ourselves up for less debt payments and even lower that rate at one point.”
The mayor also said that assessed value went up 2% and that pensions have increased to the tune of $77,000 but that the new program through the Greater Tompkins County Municipal Health Insurance Consortium has saved residents more than $85,000 over the last year.
Other features of the projected budget include the tracking of American Rescue Plan money and community development assistance as well as an increased labor line for the department of public works to cover the overtime hours spent working on current projects around the village.
Olson said during last Wednesday’s meeting that all budget items apart from labor, fuel, utilities and immediate emergency needs will be frozen until the budget process has been completed.
Next the trustees will hold workshops and go through the budget proposal top to bottom with each Village department prior to allowing a related public hearing and then adopting the final budget.