Ti gets 2.5 percent tax hike

Local News

Discussion

PLEASE NOTE: There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

ALSO NOTE: Derisive name-calling of an individual or group will result in the entire comment being deleted. This includes the terms "stupid" and "idiot" and similar references.

Welcome to our new online comments feature. Before you can join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address.

Once you do, your comments will post after they have been reviewed by a moderator.

We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified, at the newspaper’s discretion, for a number of reasons. Here are some typical practices to avoid in trying to get your comment printed:

There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

Don’t state as a fact something that is unsubstantiated or that our editors wouldn't know to be true.

Don’t presume someone’s guilt in a case when it hasn't been established by a court.

Don’t assail or impugn an identifiable individual or group. If you have that kind of criticism, sign your name and submit it as a Letter to the Editor. (There is some leeway on this in connection with public officials, but it is not unconditional.)

Don’t use profanity. This includes the term “tea bagger.”

Don’t be incendiary or tasteless. Those qualities are subjective, of course, and our editors will be the arbiters.

Do not identify yourself in the main content area of the article content form. Only by enforcing this rule can the moderators prevent unscrupulous commenters from falsely identifying themselves as someone they are not.

Don't type in all caps. It is considered the Internet equivalent of shouting.

In sports articles, do not criticize officiating.

Remember, moderators are not allowed to edit any article comments. If an article comment fails any of the above criteria, the entire comment will be deleted.

We monitor comments Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Approval of comments outside these times may be delayed.

comments powered by Disqus

November 5, 2009

By LOHR McKINSTRY The Press Republican Thu Nov 05, 2009, 08:15 AM EST

TICONDEROGA — Taxpayers in Ticonderoga will see a tax-levy increase of just 2.5 percent if the town's tentative 2010 budget is approved.

That's mostly because Essex County is sharing one-quarter percent of its sales-tax revenue with towns next year, Town Supervisor Robert C. Dedrick said.

"It's a good budget. Without that sales-tax sharing, we'd be looking at huge decreases somewhere."

The town will receive about $160,000 from the county in sales-tax sharing.

The proposed town budget totals $4.94 million without special-district appropriations, from $4.85 million this year.

The tax levy, which is the amount raised by taxes, will be $3.8 million, a 2-percent increase from the current $3.7 million.

The public hearing is at 5 tonight at the Ticonderoga Community Building.

The tax rate in Ticonderoga, including the Ticonderoga Fire District, would be about $9.56 per $1,000 of assessment; it was $9.38 before. In the Chilson Fire District, the tax rate will be $10.14, up from $9.89 previously.

Fire district budgets are set by a Board of Fire Commissioners and submitted for inclusion in the town budget.

Non-union town employees, including elected officials, will get 3-percent pay raises. By union contract, other workers will receive pay increases of 1⅛ to 3.5 percent. Sewer and Water Department employees will get three-quarter-percent pay hikes.

The cost of health insurance went up 8 percent, Dedrick said. He said the town's State Retirement Fund contribution was up $40,000.

The town lost about $75,000 in mortgage-tax receipts from last year, he said.

The town restored its summer youth program at a cost of $75,000, with $25,000 of that reimbursed by the state.

Next year's youth program will be tuition-fee-based, using the free and reduced-price lunch program schedule that schools use. That means the cost will vary from free to $12.50 or $25 a week. The tuition fees are expected to generate about $16,000.

Annual water and sewer rates will stay at $420 a year for sewer and go from $322 to $328 for water.

The town tax base increased by about $1.6 million, with 20 percent of land in the town classified as tax-exempt.

"We've tried to balance needs of taxpayers with quality-of-life issues in this budget," Dedrick said.

E-mail Lohr McKinstry at: lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com