New Scotland adopts budget
Includes 5 percent tax cut
By DAN SABBATINO
The New Scotland Town Board adopted its budget for 2010 on Monday, Nov. 16 at its regular meeting.
The spending plan calls for close to $5.2 million and includes a 5 percent decrease in taxes.
The budget was passed 5-0 and there were no comments by the public at the Nov. 16 meeting.
The budget calls for $3,909,843 in appropriations, and $1,387,516 in taxes
to be levied, according to the budget summary on file at the town clerk’s office. The town is expecting $2,522,327 in other revenue, such as sales tax.
The general fund was sliced by $200,000 in order to make room for the tax cut.
In view of the state of the economy and individual financial situations, I though it would be a nice gesture to offer a modest tax decrease, Town Supervisor Tom Dolin said.
Dolin said cuts were possible with the elimination of 1.5 positions. The town will not hire a part-time planner, as planned, and cut the workload of the internal controls officer in half.
The town has also postponed the purchasing of a new accounting system as well as a new telephone system Dolin said, to keep costs down for 2010.
Town Board member Rich Reilly said the town is looking good for now, and he supports the budget that has been adopted, but down the road the town must be certain keep a watchful eye on a number of potential costs.
Reilly said the town often uses between $175,000 and $200,000 for equipment for the highway department, but this spending habit might need to be addressed in the coming five to six years.
Both Reilly and Dolin addressed the possibility that pension contributions will rise in the coming years, based on information from the state comptroller’s office. They each said the matter is something to watch in future years, but noted that the 2010 budget is looking healthy.
According to a statement from the comptroller’s office in September, the 2011 rate will jump to 11.9 percent, up from 7.4 percent expected in 2010.
`While the pension fund has handled the market collapse better than most other public funds, there is no question that it’s been hit by the crumbling economy,` State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in the statement. `The Retirement System’s Actuary has determined that employer contribution rates have to increase. In the past, when the market performed well, the rates decreased. Similarly, when the markets perform poorly, the rates have to increase.`
The rates in 2011 will be comparable to 2005-2007, DiNapoli said.
Dolin said the town is prepared for any increases in the rate this year, and will make the appropriate adjustments when the 2011 rates rise.
`All we can do is deal with them if and when they arrive,` Dolin said.
He said the town’s reserve funds are doing well, with town wide reserves at 50 percent of the main fund, 85 percent of the B fund, and 30 percent of the highway fund.
Dolin noted another item the town will have to monitor closely as the year progressed is cuts related to the town designated engineer, where last years line was halved from $33,000 to $15,000
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