PLATTSBURGH — City of Plattsburgh councilors approved the 2012 budget after further lowering the tax levy and rate.
The budget, which features a final tax-levy increase of 1.01 percent and no change in the tax rate of $10.40 per $1,000 of assessed property value, was unanimously approved Thursday night.
"We received some disappointing news that state aid was being decreased, and there was an increase in the retirement costs which raised our expenses, but we tried to focus on keeping our rate even," said Councilor James Calnon (I-Ward 4), who serves as the council's budget officer.
Mayor Donald Kasprzak put forth his budget plan last Oct. 1, as required by the City Charter, and it featured an increase in the tax levy of 1.86 percent, and a bump in the tax rate from $10.40 to $10.48.
The tax-levy increase was under the state's new property-tax cap, which for the city would have been just under 5 percent. The cap is based on a 2 percent increase, but exceptions are made for tax-base growth, retirement costs and payments in lieu of taxes.
MORE FUND BALANCE
The council had been working on the budget the past three months and made some adjustments to the mayor's plan. They included $60,000 for Plattsburgh Public Library to save four jobs after they were eliminated in a controversial cost-cutting move by the Library Board of Trustees.
Also added to the budget were raises for department managers of $1,250 each; $35,747 to add a recreation activity specialist; $25,000 to do a feasibility study for converting the old beach bathhouse into a restaurant; and $32,000 to meet the projected cost of Worker's Compensation insurance.
To pay for the changes and to further reduce the tax levy, the council agreed to add $242,358 to the general fund from the fund balance, leaving the fund balance at about $2.9 million, which is about 12.6 percent of the general fund. The state recommends a fund balance of between 5 and 10 percent of the general fund.
'WILL KEEP AT IT'
Calnon said he was pleased with the final budget, but said it was a challenge to come up with a respectable plan.
"New York is the second-highest taxed state in the nation; second only to New Jersey, and we can't do much about what happens at the state level, the county or the federal level," he said.
"But we have been able to control our own local taxes, and I am kind of proud of that."
Calnon said he would have liked to have seen a tax-levy decrease, but the increase in State Retirement costs and the drop in state aid made that unattainable.
"We will keep at it, and I think the lesson for every municipality is that the key is keeping expenses down and not increasing revenue so much," he said.
"With the cap we could have increased the tax levy up to almost 5 percent, but just because you can doesn't mean you should."
Email Joe LoTemplio at: jlotemplio@pressrepublican.com
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