Proposed Carmel Budget Receives Sharp Criticism

The proposed 2014 Carmel town budget, which includes a tax increase well above the state-mandated cap, was sharply criticized by some residents during a public hearing on Nov. 6.

Supervisor Kenneth Schmitt has proposed at $24.95 million general and highway spending plan that includes a tax rate increase of 4.7 percent. Taxes on a home assessed at $216,800 would rise by $76 next year and spending would go up by 4.4 percent over the current year.

Schmitt’s budget includes no proposed layoffs and he is proposing to appropriate $100,000 to the highway fund for equipment purchases in the future.

Town Comptroller Mary Ann Maxwell said last month under exemptions allowed by the state, the town could have raised property taxes by 1.97 percent to be considered to keep within the tax cap in 2014.

Property taxes rose by 7.9 percent this year.

While Schmitt and his town board defended the spending plan, most of the residents who addressed the board last week said the tax hike was excessive.

Resident David Nicholas said the town board should not again being proposing a budget with a tax hike above the cap. Carmel should meet the cap as “other towns are,” he said.

Another resident, Jennifer Maher, said the town board has not done enough to reduce spending to hold down property taxes. “I’d like to see some cuts,” she said.

Councilman John Lupinacci asked Maher where she wanted the cuts to come from. To meet the cap, the board would need “more drastic cuts,” he said.

Schmitt said over the past few years the town board has made several spending cuts, including in town staff.

Deputy Supervisor Frank Lombardi said to meet the tax cap for next year would require $1 million in spending reductions and to do so would be harmful to the town.

The fact that Putnam County does not share sales tax revenues with the towns also hurts municipalities, Lombardi said. Westchester County shares a portion of its sales tax revenues with its municipalities, he said.

Schmitt said he did not think the county legislature would approve the sharing a portion of the sales tax revenues in the near future.

Schmitt said the town board has reduced spending by a total of $2 million since 2008 “mostly through staff reductions.”

Despite the comments from the town board, Maher said residents could not accept increases over the tax cap for a period of years.

Nicholas said one way to generate some additional revenue would be for groups that put on events to be responsible for all costs of town services for their programs, such as police overtime. Board members said they would consider his idea.

Not all residents who spoke during last week were totally critical of the town board. Mike Borelli said the board cannot keep cutting staff as a solution.
Borelli said he wanted the town to come to a contract agreement with its police union. Legal fees are up $100,000 in the proposed budget to pay for legal issues regarding the police, he said.

Lupinacci said the town began the mediation process with the police union last month.

Lupinacci said the town will seek to have the county pay Carmel and Kent for the full cost of SWAT team services.

The board voted unanimously to close the public hearing, as well as passing a resolution to allow itself to go over the tax cap next year.

The deadline to approve next year’s own budget is Nov. 20.