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Wallkill Valley Times, Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Smoke at Berea School
BUY A HOME NOW
BEFORE INTEREST RATES RISE
WITH LOW MORTGAGE RATES FROM HOMETOWN BANK
Jane Anderson
Coldenham firefighters investigate a report of smoke, Monday night at the Berea Elementary
School. There was no damage reported.
Mamakating’s tax levy staying below
the state cap next year
By JANE ANDERSON
It’s over, but it’s under. That’s the
town of Mamakating’s adopted 2016 budget in a nutshell, according to documents
released by the town.
The tax levy, or amount to be raised by
taxes after all expenses and revenue are
tallied, is $4,356,849. That’s 2.21 percent
more than this year’s levy of $4,262,685,
but it’s still below the $4,368,377 tax-levy
cap that would have been allowed by the
state once a complicated formula of “T =
((((A – B + C ) * D) + E – F) * G) – H + J” is
computed. Those letters represent figures
such as this year’s levy, payments in lieu
of taxes (PILOTs), tax-cap reserves, tax
base growth factors, and carryover from
this year.
The tax rate per $1,000 won’t be determined until the town finds out what the
county budget looks like, Supervisor Bill
Herrmann said.
Revenues in the town are expected
to go down next year by $62,571. That
includes $87,000 less in PILOTs, and
$30,000 less revenue from mortgage taxes.
Those figures are balanced by revenue
increases of $25,000 in fines and bail, and
$10,000 in cell tower rental-fee revenue,
along with other miscellaneous revenues.
Appropriations, or the expenses paid
by the town, are going up by $280,436,
to $2,604,217. The biggest increase is in
insurance. Although $13,025 in insurance
coverage for Town Board members is
being eliminated, that savings is overshadowed by a hike of more than $68,000
in unallocated insurance that the town
will have to pay. Medical and dental insurance for employees will also jump by
$36,256, to $338,391.
A $34,336 budget officer line item
will be added to the supervisor’s office,
at the request of auditors, but it hasn’t
been decided if and how that will be
used, Herrmann said. Town Hall will
get $35,000 in new equipment, the budget
says. Attorney fees are going from $68,627
to $125,000, tempered by a $12,000 dip in
tax certiorari expenditures. The town will
monitor landfill activity, a new line item,
at a cost of $12,000.
According to the budget, the highway department will pay $25,000 more in
machinery costs. Snow removal expenses will jump $16,000, a fairly negligible
amount considering the town budgeted
$856,777 for that last year. Debt service
principal, a new line item in the highway department for 2016, will be $25,892.
Medical and dental insurance for highway employees will be $39,829 higher than
this year. Highway maintenance insurance will nearly double, to $70,000. The
town will put $50,000 in a new contingency fund.
Salaries for elected officials will not
change next year, according to the budget: Supervisor Bill Herrmann will earn
$29,246; each of the four Town Board
members will get a $11,167 stipend; other
salaries are Town Clerk Jean Dougherty,
$44,668; Tax Collector Janet Evans, 14,902;
Town Justice Cynthia Dolan, $28,536;
Town Justice Joel Welsh, $30,536; and
Highway Superintendent Buddy Platt,
$63,582.
Mamakating will be saving money
in some areas. The $10,000 contractual
expenditure it paid to state police will be
eliminated.