PV Town Budget Could Exceed Tax Cap
By Janine Bowen
The town of Putnam Valley will likely need to override the tax cap according to numbers revealed at a preliminary budget work session.
At a Wednesday night work session, Supervisor Robert Tendy revealed the 2015 budget currently carries a 2.6 percent tax levy increase. This is an improvement over the original tentative budget, which would have seen an increase of 4.8 percent, but still exceeds the 1.56 percent tax cap.
To achieve the lower the tax levy, the town board plans to use $175,000 of fund balance money. They had discussed utilizing $215,000 from this fund, in order to create a budget that would be under the tax cap, but Tendy stated it would not be in the best interest of residents to take that action.
“It would make little sense to take out that much money from our fund balance…knowing that next year we will have to try and meet the tax cap,” said Tendy.
If the $215,000 were removed from the account, the balance would be less than 11 percent of the overall budget, which is just on the border of what the state recommends. Tendy worried that taking too much from the account would make it difficult for the town to come in under the tax cap next year, when Governor Andrew Cuomo’s tax freeze takes effect.
Tendy explained although the tax levy increase will break the cap, many of the increases in expenditures listed in the budget are state mandates the town has no control over including workers compensation and pensions. On the town level, spending has only increased by about 3 percent, which includes the hiring of a new full time clerk as well as contracts with a dog control agency.
Trustee Jacqueline Annabi voiced concerned about some of the contracts listed in the budget, believing that costs could be reduced by revisiting those items. However, contractual issues must be discussed in executive session under town law, so she could not elaborate on what specific changes she would like to see.
Annabi also voiced concerned about the amount of money the town pays to the Putnam Valley Historical Society Museum. While she acknowledged the town should continue their contract with the museum, she believes the $11,500 that is currently allocated to the facility is too much.
A majority of that cost goes to pay the museum director, while a small portion pays for upkeep at the site. Trustee Steven Mackay explained the increased cost is due to the fact that the museum is now hoping to remain open year round as opposed to a few months per year. In addition, Tendy noted the museum is an important part of the town’s history and provides valuable resources to the community.
“It’s the only building left in town where our town has any sense of identity of who we were, where we’ve been, where we’re going,” he said.
Board members voiced frustration with state requirements to remain under the tax cap, noting that a 2.6 percent tax increase would have been viewed as a good thing before the tax freeze proposal. Tendy noted though that Putnam Valley residents will still be receiving a tax rebate this year because the school district passed a budget that was under the cap.
Over the next month, residents should receive a rebate check from the state that will refund the difference in their property taxes from 2013 to 2014. Tendy noted that not all homeowners will receive the check however; only those whose primary residence is Putnam Valley are eligible for the refund and people who saw a property tax decrease in 2014 will not receive a rebate.
Two public hearings regarding the 2015 budget will be held on November 5, beginning at 6 p.m.
