The New Hyde Park Village Board is planning to enact a local law to enable the village to override the 2 percent tax cap on municipal budget that will take effect in 2012.
The local law would require a super-majority – four of its five members – to approve a 2012-2013 budget that exceeds the cap, Village of New Hyde Park Mayor Daniel Petruccio said Tuesday.
At Tuesday night’s village board meeting, Petruccio said the board would hold a public hearing on Nov. 15 to solicit residents’ input on the proposed change in the local code.
“We just don’t see it feasible to stay within that increase,” Petruccio said after the meeting, citing rising pension costs as one concern.
The village’s $5.63 million budget for 2011-2012 represents a 5 percent increase over the previous budget of $5.57 million.
“We know how close we’ve operated on the budget. We just want to give ourselves the option although we’ll try to stay close to the current numbers,” Petruccio said.
He noted that hours of part-time workers in the village Department of Public Works had been cut back last year to reduce expenses.
Petruccio said the board considered it “prudent” to have the local law in place before it began considering the 2012-2013 budget early next year.
The New York State Conference of Mayors and Municipal Officials recently recommended that all of Nassau Counties 64 villages enact an override law to cope with the tax cap.
In other developments:
• Village of New Hyde Park Deputy Mayor Robert Lofaro invited residents to contact Village Hall with requests to replace trees lost during the recent tropical storm.
“We want to do a pretty aggressive tree planting to reforestate the village,” Lofaro said.
He noted that the village Department of Public Works would be removing 60 tree stumps around the village in its final phase of cleaning up after the storm.
• Lofaro noted that the fence along the Long Island Rail Road line damaged during last year’s post-Christmas blizzard would soon be replaced.
• Members of New Hyde Park G&E Linder VFW Post 8031 will conduct ceremonies in observance of Veterans Day in front of Village Hall on Nov. 11 at 11 a.m.
• Petruccio said the annual village Christmas tree lighting will take place at dusk on Dec. 3 in front of Village Hall. Festivities preceding the lighting, including a magic show, will be held in nearby Christ Hall at 4:30 p.m.
• “The One and Only Santa Claus,” a Christmas season play featuring local youngsters in the cast, will be staged in the William Gill Theatre on the second floor of Village Hall on Dec. 10 and 11 at 2 p.m. There will be a $2 admission for the performances.
