The Village of New Hyde Park’s preliminary 2016-17 budget will not require it to cut any services or pierce the state tax levy cap, Mayor Robert Lofaro said this week.
The $6,139,000 budget is about $80,000 larger than last year, he said, with a $4,237,000 tax levy reflecting an estimated 0.64-percent increase, the largest the village is allowed under state law.
“We don’t see anything that’s so significant that will change that dramatically at this point,” Lofaro said.
An increase in the village’s assessed value to $21.8 million drove revenue growth, Lofaro said, offset by increases in worker’s compensation and insurance expenses.
While the budget would not require any cuts, the village is proposing some small fee increases, such as raising the price of a residential parking permit from $75 to $100, Lofaro said.
Other possible hikes include fines for parking violations and some building department fees, he said.
Actual costs for expenses such as insurance and property tax grievance payments were less than the village’s higher “conservative” estimates, Lofaro said, helping the village in a tight budget season.
The Village Board scheduled a public hearing to authorize it to exceed the tax cap, but Lofaro said that hearing will likely be canceled.
“We’ll continue to make adjustments until the time when we have to adopt it,” Lofaro said.
New Hyde Park’s Village Board will hold a hearing on the budget on April 5 at 7:30 p.m. in Village Hall at 1420 Jericho Turnpike.
