In an announcement at the Thursday, Nov. 9, town board meeting, officials said they have managed to whittle down next year’s proposed town budget by nearly half.
The town has cut $1.2 million from the initial $80,645,000 tentative budget, reducing the proposed tax rate increase of 29 percent to 16 percent. Under the new spending plan, a home assessed at $200,000 will pay an additional $72 per year.
Last month, the town was between a rock and a hard place when it was told it would have to shoulder the lion’s share of a $1.8 million county charge back for compliance with the federal Help America Vote Act. Colonie was to pay $680,416 of that tab.
After meeting with the municipal leaders, County Executive Michael Breslin agreed to propose a reduced charge back to the county Legislature, and Colonie’s rate, based on its taxable value and the largest to be paid in the county, was cut from $680,416 to $222,615.
The town had originally proposed a 12 cents per $1,000 tax to cover the charge back, but, under the reduction, town taxpayers will pay 4 cents per $1,000.
Despite the reduction, town leaders say the charge is considerably more than what the town has paid in the past for Election Day costs.
We still feel that until the county absorbs 100 percent of it, we are going to keep fighting it, said Ronald Caponera, town comptroller. `We still don’t know what’s going to happen next year, and using the tax base (of municipalities for the charge back) is unfair.`
Aside from the reduction to the charge back, the town employed a series of departmental cuts and eliminated pay raises for elected officials to keep Colonie’s taxes low, said Caponera.
Salaries and wages were cut by approximately $400,000, he said. The cuts came in the form of raises and not filling positions left vacant by retirements. It is the second consecutive budget to freeze pay raises to keep costs minimal.
Like last year, members of the town’s planning and zoning boards will not receive raises, and town department heads had their raises reduced from a proposed two and a half percent increase down to one percent, said Caponera.
Last month, Colonie officials had proposed a highway fund increase of $1.4 million to get back on track with road maintenance and begin phasing in new federal and state stormwater management regulations. It was to be the largest increase to a tax line in the tentative budget.
The town has now cut back the spending plan by $250,000.
Last year, the town established the highway fund item as it faced increases to manage its road infrastructure. As it proposed last week, the town was forced once again to make cuts to the line item to offset increases.
`Some of that was from the paving budget, preventative maintenance, road salt and preparing for the new stormwater management regulations,` Caponera said.
The new federal regulations are to be met by 2008. Currently the Department of Environmental Conservation handles most of enforcement of the new regulations, but the town will taking full control by 2008.
Despite the proposed cuts, Colonie is still on course to work the new regulations and the town employees necessary for the job, said Mary Brizzell, town supervisor.
`We have a good handle on it, and we are up there in the front rows of those folding in the storm water (regulations) into the process,` said Brizzell.
The town will be hiring a stormwater coordinator for next year as outlined in the tentative budget, she said.
The town may be taking chances with some of the cuts to the highway fund, she said. But she has been assured that preventative maintenance will continue, and there will be enough salt for the winter season.
The town has not used any savings to offset increases next year.
The town expects to pass the proposed 2007 budget at the Thursday, Nov. 16, meeting.“
