By Ashley M. Casey

Staff Writer

The Salina Town Board voted Nov. 14 to approve the 2017 budget. Appropriations for 2017 will total $15,636,702, a 23.6 percent increase over the 2016 adopted budget of $12,648,303.

The tax levy for 2017 will total $12,813,120, which exceeds the state-mandated tax increase cap of 0.6 percent.

Supervisor Mark Nicotra told the Star-Review that the town has seen increases in insurance, retirement costs and yard waste and brush removal contracts.

The town also has hired Linda Pease as comptroller as of Nov. 1, 2016. Pease’s salary of $75,000 is about $10,000 higher than Salina’s portion of the salary for retired comptroller Greg Maxwell, whose services Salina shared with the town of Van Buren. Maxwell retired in June.

The town expects to generate $2,384,582 in non-property tax revenues, including court fines and program fees. Salina also will use $435,000 of its appropriated fund balance.

Salina has projected $580,000 in cable television franchise revenue, which is a 10.76 percent decrease from the current year’s projections.

“The way people are unplugging these days, I think they’re only going to be steadily going down,” Nicotra said.

Tax rates

Outside the village of Liverpool, the tax rate is about $5.36 per $1,000 of assessed value. A resident with a home assessed at $100,000 can expect to pay about $21 more in 2017 than in 2016.

Inside the village of Liverpool, the tax rate is $1.73 per thousand. A homeowner with a $100,000 house can expect to pay about $4.70 more next year than in 2016.

“[We’re] doing everything that residents have come to expect from the town and still doing it at a price they can afford,” Nicotra said before the board voted.

“It was nice to be able to meet with all of the department heads and discuss what their needs are,” Councilor Colleen Gunnip said. “I suggest continuing to meet with them throughout the year and not just at budget time.”