Comptroller’s forecast: Town will not exceed tax cap in 2018

By Ashley M. Casey

Staff Writer

Van Buren homeowners can look forward to another rebate check next year: The town’s 2017 tax levy has come in under the state-mandated 0.67 percent tax increase cap. In fact, overall property taxes will decrease by 1.42 percent next year.

Comptroller Greg Maxwell presented the 2017 budget at the Nov. 1 Van Buren Town Board meeting. The town board voted unanimously to adopt the budget.

“All the towns are saying they can’t stay under the tax cap. One town can,” Maxwell said. “And I’ll go on record right now: In 2018, we will be under the tax cap.”

Van Buren’s appropriations for 2017 total $4,795,848, which represents a 0.76 percent increase over the 2016 budget’s $4,759,504.

Maxwell said climbing wages and benefits have been the “driving force” in the town’s spending — wages account for 35 percent of the town’s budget and benefits make up 17 percent. Van Buren will save some money because no new positions have been added for next year, and some town employees are retiring. Maxwell is one of those employees; he officially retired from the towns of Salina and Van Buren earlier this year, but has stayed on part-time in Van Buren.

To manage insurance costs, which account for 47 percent of each payroll dollar, full-time employees pay 25 percent of the health insurance premium and part-timers pay 50 percent.

“I believe that Van Buren has the highest percentage in the county that employees pay,” Maxwell said.

Van Buren has taken advantage of other savings as well. New York state retirement costs have dipped from their 2014 height, and Maxwell said debts only account for 5 percent of the town’s budget.

“What the town has been doing [is] if we need a vehicle, we try to pay cash,” Maxwell said.

Maxwell said the town has been maintaining reserve funds for “big ticket” expenditures. Van Buren is putting $100,000 into its highway reserve fund and $5,000 each for code enforcement, parks and building and grounds vehicle replacements.

The town’s appropriated fund balance for 2017 is $382,466, which is up $78,582.

Village taxes up slightly

The total tax levy for 2017 is $3,080,376, which represents a 1.42 percent or $45,043 decrease over the current year’s tax levy.

“We’re going to ask you to pay the same amount in 2017 that you did in 2012 and 2013,” Maxwell said.

Inside the village of Baldwinsville, residents will see their taxes rise 4.5 percent, which equals a $7.66 increase on a $100,000 home. The 2017 tax rate has been calculated at about $1.76 per $1,000 of assessed value, so a B’ville homeowner could pay $176.41 next year, compared to $168.75 this year.

Outside the village, taxes are going down 3.2 percent from the 2016 rate of about $4.32 per thousand to $4.18 per thousand. A Van Buren resident with a home valued at $100,000 can expect to pay $417.71 next year, or $13.90 less than this year.

Maxwell said Van Buren’s tax rate is somewhat higher than the tax rate in surrounding towns because Van Buren’s taxable assessed value is smaller and is not showing much growth. The town’s taxable assessed value in 2017 is $657 million, a 0.23 percent dip from 2016. Maxwell said the town of Lysander, for example, has more than $1 billion in taxable assessed value.

Fortunately, new homes such as those at Marion Meadows will join the town’s tax rolls in 2018.

The budget presentation, which includes special districts and a breakdown of tax rates, can be viewed at bit.ly/vanburen2017.