The Bethlehem Town Board unanimously passed its 2015 budget last week.
The decision was made with little fanfare on Wednesday, Nov. 12. Although there was some feedback from residents at earlier meetings or through letters, no one spoke at the public hearing held earlier in the process.
“We held a public hearing, though it was somewhat under attended,” said Supervisor John Clarkson. “We’ll take that as a good sign.”
There were no major changes from the preliminary budget, and board members did not speak regarding the spending plan, but workshops were held in October. The town was once again shown to be in stable condition financially.
The budget was presented in September by Clarkson and 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 cost 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, many homeowners will 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.
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 budget includes a cost-of-living increase for employees of 2 percent. Clarkson previously 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.
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.
Greater effort will now 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 includes $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.
The public hearing for the 2015 sewer tax roll has been set for Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 6 p.m.
