The village of Broadalbin’s tax rates are set to increase again this year, although not nearly as much as last year.
The Village Board of Trustees last week approved a $600,963 2011-12 budget that will increase the property tax levy $5,032, from $199,157 to $204,189.
In the portion of the village within the town of Broadalbin, the village property tax rate will increase 1.94 percent from $3.74 per $1,000 of assessed value to $3.82. For the portion within the town of Mayfield, the rate will climb 0.96 percent from $4.86 to $4.91 under the 2010-11 budget.
Tax rates took a huge jump in the 2010-11 budget — in 2009-2010, the tax rates were $2.02 on the Broadalbin side and $2.65 on the Mayfield side.
Village Mayor Eugene Christopher said after the big tax increase last year he would have liked to reduce rates this year, but it wasn’t possible. “We have to deal with state-mandated increases like pension costs,” he said.
In her remarks on the village’s budget, Clerk-Treasurer Sheila Bleyl noted that the budget avoids a larger tax increase primarily by use of $105,000 of the $148,000 the village projects it will have in reserves at the end of the 2011-12 fiscal year and a “less conservative” estimate for how much sales tax revenue the village will receive from the county.
“Relying on a shrinking surplus to balance the budget is risky and poses the potential for a much larger tax increase in future years,” she said. “In spite of a shortfall in sales tax revenues last year, a less conservative estimate is used in this year’s budget in order to keep the tax increase down. This, however, could contribute to a shrinking fund balance available for appropriation next year.”
The 2011-12 budget estimates the village will receive $140,000 in sales tax. The 2010-11 budget estimated the village would receive $142,046 but actual receipts were only $120,000.
The budget purchases a new police car for $29,000 and puts $3,000 into a reserve fund for future car purchases. It also puts $5,000 in a “Tax Stabilization Reserve.”
In her budget remarks Bleyl said it was important to establish the two reserve funds because with the possibility of a 2 percent property tax increase cap being imposed by the state, “it is more important than ever to plan for the future,” she wrote.
Categories: Schenectady County
