The board reviewed the budget, line by line and questioned the proposed increase from $7,500 in 2013 to $9,300 in 2014 of the A1110 Justice Court contractual line. Also discussed was increasing one of the judge’s salaries.
The Village Clerk office equipment budget line was reduced from $2,500 to $1,000 and the contractual expense line was reduced from $15,000 to $12,000. The board questioned the part time staff/internship line.
The budget for the village attorney was doubled from $5,000 to $10,000 in anticipation of increased fees for outside counsel. This is troubling to the Airmont Scoop. It is unclear if this is due to past litigation or if the board anticipates that the Village is going to be sued yet again.
Trustee Gigante once again suggested adding $20,000 to the Contingency Fund. Also discussed were the Employee Benefits line A9080 pension and the estimated amount of $105,877 due for 2014.
The board decided to add an additional $50,000 for street improvement and will keep the $100,000 for drainage expense. Mr. Bracco stated that it may be possible to reduce the amount being allocated for drainage after discussing this matter with the Village Engineer. Trustee Gigante suggested taking out a bond for road paving. Mr. Brooker will provide the board with a list of the roads that are top priority for paving at a future date.
Based on these calculations, Mr. Frega anticipated a tax increase of approximated 3.6% which translates to about $18/year for the average homeowner. Trustee Cohen was opposed to this increase since it is now way over the 1.66% cap. Mayor Boesch stated that if the roads will be repaved, the residents will support the tax increase.
Trustee Bracco mentioned that the bond counsel advised him that the money from the sale of the house located on village property could be used for the cost of the separation of utilities. He was not happy about not giving out raises and feels that the residents of Airmont should know that most of the tax increase is specifically based on the maintenance of village roads and paying for additional code enforcement.
Final Vote on the Budget
The Budget was approved at a 4.05% increase, significantly higher than the original proposed amount of .6%. Mayor Boesch and Trustees Bracco, Gigante, and Valenti voted in favor of the tax increase. Trustee Dennis Cohen was the sole vote against the budget. He felt that there were ways they could find the additional funds needed by having the Village become more efficient, while still providing the same level of services to the village residents.
