LYSANDER — In crafting the 2023 budget, Lysander Town Supervisor Bob Wicks said the town is striving to provide the same level of services for residents while conserving money and looking for revenue other than property taxes.
“We’ve been very frugal with our money and tried to do as much as we could with grants,” he said.
Residents are “feeling the pinch” of rising prices at the grocery store and gas pump, Wicks said.
“When you have high inflation, governments have to retract,” he said.
While higher-income residents can absorb small tax increases, Wicks said he is concerned about homeowners on fixed incomes who are already struggling to make ends meet.
“I remember how my parents had to struggle, so I take that into account,” he said.
Appropriations for Lysander’s 2023 budget will total $5,787,047, which is a 9.55% increase over the 2022 adopted budget’s $5,282,698.
Among the major factors in the 2023 budget are highway expenditures and personnel. The highway budget will see an increase of $64,000 for equipment purchases and an additional $116,000 for road maintenance and construction. The town also has budgeted $100,000 for fuel costs, an increase of $28,750.
On the personnel front, the town has overhauled some of its accounting procedures, separating full-time, part-time and overtime expenses and making sub-accounts consistent across departments. All town employees — and two elected officials, the town clerk and highway superintendent — will receive a 2.5% raise in 2023. The town supervisor, town board and justices will not receive a raise.
The town’s utilities expenses are going up $41,000 thanks to the spray park and other rising costs. The parks department has added $40,000 for a summer day camp, but the program is expected to generate enough revenue to offset the expense.
Among the major factors in the 2023 budget are highway expenditures and personnel.
The tax rates for 2023 are as follows:
- General fund (whole town, including the village of Baldwinsville): about 43 cents per $1,000 of assessed value
- General fund (part-town, outside the village): about 5.7 cents per thousand
- Highway (part-town, outside the village): about $1.18 per thousand
Overall, the tax rates in Lysander will decrease by about 9.5%. Since the average homeowner’s assessment went up by 13%, residents can expect a slight increase on their taxes next year.
The median home value in Baldwinsville is $250,000. A homeowner outside the village of Baldwinsville whose house was assessed at $250,000 in 2022 paid about $460.63 in town taxes. In 2023, however, the same home would be assessed at $282,500. Our example homeowner can expect to pay about $470.97 in 2023 — about $10 more. Inside the village of Baldwinsville, a similar home would owe about $121.50 in town taxes in 2023, compared to $119.13 for the current year.
Wicks said his goal throughout his administration has been to stabilize the tax rate to allow for gradual increases in the future, but inflation makes it difficult to plan for sustainability.
“Our fund balance is okay right now, but if inflation and product cost keep going up that’ll only cover us for one year,” he said.
Visit townoflysander.org for the full 2023 budget.
