By David Tyler

The Manlius Town Board adopted the preliminary 2021 budget on Wednesday, Oct. 14, and residents will have the opportunity to comment at a public hearing scheduled for Oct. 28.

The preliminary town-wide budget calls for an increase in spending of about $500,000 to $10.75 million. Those increases are driven primarily by about a $200,000 increase in health insurance premiums and a $300,000 increase in the police budget. A large portion of the increase to the police department is driven by the new officers hired to work within the Fayetteville-Manlius schools. The cost of those officers is funded by the school district.

“It’s still a work in progress,” said Supervisor Ed Theobald. “We’re going to do what we can to get under that tax cap between now and November.”

As a “precautionary measure,” the board voted to override the state property tax cap of 1.56 percent increase. Without a vote to override the tax cap, the state could impose strict financial guidelines on the town in the event the town goes over because of a miscalculation or clerical error.

Manlius – and most other municipalities – have voted to override the tax cap every year since the law was passed in 2011. It has only actually exceeded the tax cap once in those nine years.

“It’s really more of a safeguard if we happen to go over inadvertently or if we need to go over because we simply don’t have the funds we need to meet our obligations,” Councilor Katelyn Kriesel said.
“This year, with the uncertainty of the revenue from the state, I think it’s all the more important [to pass the override],” said Councilor Karen Green.

The deadline to adopt the 2021 budget is Nov. 18.

Chicken codes discussed

Manlius Codes Enforcement Officer Randy Capriotti asked the board to clarify the town code regarding chickens and ducks.

“When this stuff was written, times were a little bit different,” Capriotti said. “It’s time that we address this. It’s just a matter of what direction the board wants to go in with it.”

Capriotti said he gets complaints every week about chickens that are not penned in and visit their neighbors’ properties. In dealing with these complaints, Capriotti said there is too much room for interpretation in the town code and he would like to see the board create something with more clarity.

The board plans to call for public input on codes regarding chickens and ducks before redefining the code.