Levenberg Delivers Strong 2022 Ossining Town Budget
Before Ossining Town Supervisor Dana Levenberg gets ready to start her fourth two-year term, she unveiled a tentative 2022 budget last week that includes a minuscule tax increase.
Levenberg, who is unopposed in this year’s election after winning a Democratic primary in June, noted her spending plan was the 11th straight delivered in the town that falls under the state-mandated two percent tax cap.
“Unlike the 2020 fiscal year and 2021 budget season, which started with much uncertainty, we came into the 2022 budget season with a more certain, positive financial outlook for the town,” Levenberg stated. “Despite unprecedented challenges, we were able to keep spending down in 2020 and mitigate revenue shortfalls, and this is due in no small part to our incredible department heads who have continued to monitor their budgets very carefully. Additionally, although you will not necessarily see this reflected in the 2022 budget, the Town of Ossining is set to receive an allocation of $568,203.42 in funding through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), half of which we received in summer 2021 and the other half we expect to receive in summer 2022.”
For the average residential assessment in the Town General, the annual increase in taxes based on the 2022 Tentative Budget is only $4.04. For the average residential assessment in the Unincorporated Town, the annual increase is $81.12.
“The town’s budget is the backbone of our operations. It establishes our plan and priorities for the year and is the reference point for most of our policy decision-making throughout the year,” Levenberg explained. “As we look ahead to 2022, my Town Board colleagues and I continue to use equity as a touchstone for our decision making in policy and legislation, and that is evident in the 2022 budget.”
“As supervisor, I have committed to regularly seeking grant funding wherever possible to offset costs to local taxpayers. Since 2016, we have brought in more than $1 million in grant funds, and although grant opportunities through New York State slowed in 2020, we have reaffirmed our commitment to seeking grants by engaging a grant writing consultant in 2021,” Levenberg noted. “In 2021, we have brought in some grant awards, including $150,000 in State and Municipal Facilities grants from Senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick for improvements to the Ryder Park playground and Ice House at Cedar Lane Park. We also made applications to the Community Development Block Grant program for site improvements to Louis Engel Park, including to relocate the comfort station to the southern end of the park, in anticipation of hopefully opening the beach as a bathing beach in the coming years.”
A short presentation on the proposed budget will take place on Tuesday, November 16 during a work session on Zoom. A public hearing will be held on Tuesday, November 23, also on Zoom.
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