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Wallkill Valley Times, Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Walden Village Board adopts $11 million budget
By TED REMSNYDER
The Walden Village Board voted
unanimously to approve a 2019-2020 budget
during its meeting on Tuesday evening
that remained within the state-mandated
tax cap and includes $11,034,589 in total
appropriations. The adopted budget
includes $8,485,755 in total spending for
the village’s general fund, with $889,250
for the water fund, $1,061,794 for the sewer
fund and $597,790 in spending for the
library fund.
The spending plan features a 2.22
percent increase in the tax levy, and the
village was working with a 2.59 percent
tax cap rate.
“We were right around the cap,”
Village Manager John Revella said. “I’m
always happy to not have to file for an
override obviously. We’re always happy
to keep taxes as low as possible. The tax
cap is not a real thing, but unfortunately
things happen in life and sometimes you
need more money and sometimes you
don’t. Thankfully, we’ve been very lucky
the past several years to not have to need
too much. We’ve been doing what we
can with what we have and not trying to
burden the people too much. We’ve had
some smart growth and hopefully we’ll
have some more. A stagnant village is
a village in trouble. That’s when we get
in trouble with taxes. We’ve been lucky
so far to keep things going well. There’s
been a lot of improvements in the village
that have helped us be able to keep the
taxes down. We’ve also kept spending
down at the same time and have been very
successful at getting grant funding to get
infrastructure done.”
A total of $5,267,283 will be raised
by property taxes for the budget, with a
2.7 percent increase in the tax rate for
homeowners in the village. For a property
with an assessed value of $150,000, the
annual increase will be $66.75. Walden
Mayor Susan Rumbold said the board was
pleased that the budget came in within
the cap. “Absolutely,” she said. “That
comes from hard work and teamwork,
with all of the department heads, the
board members, the manager and the
treasurer. Everybody works hard to try
to keep things as reasonable as we can.”
Prior to the board’s budget work
sessions at the beginning of April, the
administration began with a tentative
budget that included $11,191,628 in
spending based on the wishlists of
the village’s agency heads. During the
workshops, the group was able to carve
out the funds needed to get under the cap
by making tough fiscal calls. “Every year
there are tough decisions,” Rumbold said.
“We work within a budget and we have
contractual budgetary commitments that
we have to make every year, so there’s
always difficult decisions about making
do and things that we just can’t do. We
have a lot of infrastructure issues that
are ongoing and always will be ongoing.
They’re expensive ticket items, so you
do the best with what you have without
trying to over-tax people. We want to be
reasonable so people can stay in their
homes. But it’s a difficult process every
year.”
The spending plan does not include
any appropriated reserves or cash
surplus, and the revenues for 2019-2020
are listed at $5,767,306. The manager
said that during the budget process, the
municipality was able to carve out a plan
that maintain services without piercing
the cap. “I ended up meeting with each
department head and we went through
to see where there was some ability
to move, and we found some,” Revella
explained. “We got some new figures from
our insurance companies because we’ve
had a good record over the last several
years on workers’ comp and our liability
insurance. So we were able to keep
those figures lower than we originally
anticipated. That was able to help lower
our tax burden. Really it’s just a matter of
finding priorities. Each department head
was able to prioritize and we were able to
cut a couple of corners without cutting
services. That’s the most important thing,
that we didn’t have to cut any services.”
Mohonk Preserve celebrates Healthy Ulster Spring
As part of the ongoing campaign to make Ulster the
healthiest county in New York, Mohonk Preserve is
inviting neighbors to visit the Preserve and receive a free
one-month pass during Healthy Ulster Spring beginning
Friday, Apr. 26, 2019 through Sunday, Apr. 28, 2019.
Visitors with proof of Ulster County residency may
obtain their passes at the Preserve Visitor Center on
Rte. 44/55 in Gardiner during extended hours on Friday,
Apr. 26 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Saturday, Apr.
27 and Sunday, Apr. 28 at the Visitor Center or Spring
Farm Trailhead in High Falls from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The
membership passes will be valid through May 19, 2019.
Passes must be picked up in person, except for minors,
whose parent or guardian may pick up a pass on their
behalf.
This marks the ninth year the Preserve has participated
in Ulster County’s Healthy Ulster program. The Preserve
has distributed over 29,500 free one-month passes to
Ulster County residents during the organization’s annual
Healthy Ulster Spring and Autumn events. This year’s
Healthy Ulster program is generously sponsored by a
grant from the Ulster Savings Charitable Foundation.
In addition to Healthy Ulster Spring and Autumn,
throughout the year there are many free opportunities to
enjoy the Preserve:
• Come to the Preserve Visitor Center in Gardiner
which is free and open to the public, whether members
or not, every day. Many locals bring their guests to the
Visitor Center as an introduction to the natural beauty of
this area. Enjoy the J&S Grafton Sensory Trail for people
of all ages and abilities, as well as two more miles of free
trails, a hands-on Children’s Forest, self-guided Forest
Renee Zernitsky
Healthy Ulster Spring at Mohonk Preserve.
Nature Trail, Butterfly Garden, and outdoor picnic areas.
Experience indoor exhibits such as the Kid’s Corner, the
interactive touchscreen wayfinding topographic model,
and video orientation theater, explore the green roof
terrace and the nature gift cart, and get maps and
information on local businesses and attractions.
•
Attend one of the Preserve’s many free public
programs, such as hikes, interpretive outings, talks
and lectures, and other activities. A full listing of
programs is available on the Preserve’s website at www.
mohonkpreserve.org/events.
• Participate in a school field trip – elementary school
children in the New Paltz Central School District come to
the Preserve free of charge each year with their classes.
The Preserve also serves over 40 other area schools with
on-site and in-classroom programming.
• Take advantage of the Preserve Library Pass Program
at many local and regional libraries. A list of participating
libraries is available on the Preserve’s website at www.
mohonkpreserve.org/visit/library-lending-program.
•
For more frequent visits, consider an annual
membership to get access every day at a cost of about
$1 dollar a week. Senior, student, veteran and active-
duty U.S. service member discounts are available. For
membership information, visit www.mohonkpreserve.
org/join.
As New York’s largest member- and visitor-supported
nature preserve, over 250,000 people sustain the Preserve
through their memberships and day-pass fees each year,
along with many individuals who support the Preserve
through their philanthropic donations. The Preserve is
committed to a model of community conservation that
includes promoting outdoor recreation and healthy living
while protecting over 8,000 acres of cliffs, forests, fields,
farms, and streams in its care for future generations.