Village Elections Newcomers win in Walden
WALLKILL VALLEY
TIMES
Vol . 35 , No 12 3 WEDNESDAY , MARCH 22 , 2017 3 ONE DOLLAR
RIGHT awards
Page 38
Maybrook to see 11 percent tax increase
By RACHEL COLEMAN
Maybrook residents are looking at up to an 11 percent village tax increase this year .
If adopted , the mayor ’ s proposed budget would raise the village tax rate to $ 14.02 for residents in the town of Montgomery . Residents with a home assessed at $ 150,000 would see an increase of $ 209 .
For those village residents with homes in Hamptonburgh , their tax rate would be increased by 9.3 percent to $ 9.95 and a home assessed at $ 150,000 would see an increase of $ 127.50 for the year .
The village board voted at their last meeting to pass a local law overriding the property tax cap , paving the way for the increase .
Mayor Dennis Leahy said he always tries to keep village taxes as low as possible , but he couldn ’ t avoid the increase this year without “ gutting ” the budget or draining the fund balance . As it is , the budget is utilizing $ 150,000 from its fund balance — the same amount the village used last year .
In prior years , Leahy used $ 300,000 from the village fund balance to alleviate the burden on residents , but he explained that can ’ t continue as the village needs to start rebuilding its fund balance .
The proposed budget includes no major projects , but it does contend with several cost increases .
According to Leahy , retirement costs have shot up $ 38,000 , health insurance
A sign of spring ? has gone up by $ 17,465 and workman ’ s compensation costs are up $ 5,000 .
The budget also includes a lease for a new police vehicle ($ 15,000 ), a pay increase of 1.5 percent for village employees , and an investment in economic development of $ 20,000 .
If they had not been able to override the tax cap , the cuts would have been visible to residents , from the loss of village events to investments in parks and other areas .
“ There ’ s no way we could survive ,” said Leahy .
According to Leahy , over the last nine budgets , taxes for a village resident with a home assessed at $ 150,000 has only increased $ 612 — which translates
Continued on page 4
Cinderella goes Hollywood
Page 12 www . WallkillValleyTimes . net
Village Elections Newcomers win in Walden
The Walden Village Board saw a significant shakeup on Tuesday evening , as two new Trustees gained spots on the seven-member panel as voters submitted their ballots at the Walden Firehouse . Challengers Lynn Thompson ( 259 votes ) and Faith Moore ( 246 votes ) both earned their first twoyear terms on the board , while Trustee Brian Sebring ( 249 votes ) was re-elected to serve his second stint on the panel . The three victorious candidates joined forces in the run-up to the election , putting up joint election signs around the village .
Moore will give up her current spot on the Walden Zoning Board of Appeals when she joins the Village Board next month . Trustee Edmond Leonard ( 164 votes ) came up short in his bid for a sixth straight term on the board , and Edward Bates ( 121 votes ) was unable to secure a seat on the council after an unsuccessful run last spring as well .
Walden Mayor Susan Rumbold and Village Justice Raynard Ozman were both running unopposed in the March 21 election , and Rumbold appeared on 317 village ballots to clinch another two-year term , while Ozman tallied 343 votes to earn an additional four-year stint on the bench .
- Ted Remsnyder
J . P . Aponte
Just day after a winter storm dumped nearly two feet of snow on the region , the Village of Montgomery ’ s Saint Patrick ’ s Parade went on as scheduled . More photos on pages 20 and 21 .
Incumbents keep Montgomery seats
No change in the lineup of village board trustees resulted from the election Tuesday . Walter Lindner received 404 votes , while Mike Hembury was second with 397 to retain their board seats . Don Berger had 293 , and Maria Beltrametti got 237 . There was one write-in , said Village Clerk Monserrate Rivera-Fernandez
Gertrude Greene , who has worked at the polls for 30 to 40 years — she couldn ’ t remember how long — said the stream of voters was steady all day .
- Jessica Cohen
SERVING CRAWFORD , GARDINER , MAYBROOK , MONTGOMERY , PINE BUSH , SHAWANGUNK , WALDEN AND WALLKILL