In presenting the preliminary town budget, Supervisor John Clarkson said the Town of Bethlehem remains in good financial condition, and he has proposed a slight spending increase for the coming year.
Clarkson presented his budget on Tuesday, Sept. 23, along with Comptroller Michael Cohen. The proposal includes a 0.4 percent spending increase of about $140,000. This is mostly to help pay for the rising costs of employee benefits and allow for a slight cost of living raise.
The proposed $39.7 million budget would hold a tax levy increase of 1.8 percent, which is below the state tax cap for the town. However, most homeowners should see a reduction in their tax bills following the townwide reassessment completed earlier this year.
About 6,000 homeowners will see their tax bills lowered next year. The tax rate should decrease an average of 4.1 percent. Another 2,000 should see their bills stay the same, while about 3,000 homeowners are projected to see an increase.
The current spending plan, called the “good news budget” by Clarkson when it was presented last year, also called for no cuts and mostly relied on the use of the town’s fund balance and grant money to stay balanced.
Clarkson said the one piece of bad news for 2015 is a sharp decline in the mortgage recording tax because of low refinancing numbers. That loss resulted in the town receiving $225,000 less than last year.
The preliminary budget includes a cost of living increase for employees of 2 percent. Clarkson said the raise was warranted because employees have had to take on a greater workload is recent years as positions were consolidated or went unfilled. Staffing has been reduced by 10 percent since 2008, decreasing from 241 employees to 216 in next year’s budget.
“Employees have risen to the challenge of doing more with less,” said Clarkson. “I think it’s our responsibility to compensate them fairly.”
The cost of living increase does not include emergency personnel, such as the police department and telecommunications employees. Those contracts are negotiated separately.
Two town positions are being eliminated through attrition.
When former Town Building Inspector Gil Bouchard retired earlier in the year, Justin Harbinger took his place. Harbinger’s former position will now remain vacant, reducing the number of building inspector assistants from four to three. Receiver of Taxes Nancy Mendick is also expected to retire next year. The remaining employee will then be moved to the Town Clerk offices for greater convenience of residents.
“With the use of lockbox processing and the transfer of tax receiving for schools to Bethlehem Central, Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk, and perhaps Guilderland Central next year, there is certainly no more than one FTE of labor remaining in tax receiving,” said Clarkson in a later interview.
Town water rates will increase by 3 percent. The town expects to collect $2 million in water charges next year, about $241,000 more than 2014 because of higher rates and higher consumption.
Clarkson said greater effort will be put into finding more efficiencies for the town, and officials will work in the coming year to reduce overtime spending. One of the largest proposals has been to potentially consolidate the town’s telecommunications staff with Guilderland to provide greater coverage.
The budget also proposes $215,000 in technology investments. The largest expense is $97,000 for a computer system to update how the town manages timekeeping and scheduling for employees. A paper system is still used now. Other investments include new security cameras and recording equipment, upgrading the town clerk’s files to electronic records and modernizing the assessor’s office.
No comments were made from town board members about the proposal. Budget workshops are scheduled throughout the month, with the public hearing set for Oct. 22. Final adoption of the budget is scheduled for Nov. 12.
