The Village of East Williston Board of Trustees released a tentative $2.4 million budget proposal for 2015-16 this week that would reduce the tax rate and keep the tax levy steady while investing in village beautification projects.
“I think we did an excellent job once again keeping the budget even and bringing more with less,” Deputy Mayor Bonnie Parente said.
The village released the tentative budget following a series of open meetings.
Village of East Williston Mayor David Tanner said the board typically adopts the budget at the public hearing on proposal.
The $2,441,911 tentative budget is an increase of 4.2 percent or $101,446 from the adopted budget for the fiscal year. Tanner said an operating surplus and grant funding offset the costs.
While the tax levy would remain flat at $1.97 million, an increase in the village’s taxable assessed valuation allowed the board to decrease the tax rate by 1.90 percent to $85.3 from $87.01, something Tanner attributed to a strong fiscal year.
“What do we do when we have good years? We don’t tax people. We’re letting people share the benefit of good years,” he said. “It’s always a juggling act.”
Tanner, who works as a financial consultant to local governments by trade, said that in the past, the village had raised taxes during bad years to avoid depleting reserves. The alternative, he said, could put the village in financial risk.
He used as an example that the village could have allocated money from its rainy day fund during a down year, but that could have left the village fiscally stressed during Superstorm Sandy.
The budget includes a sizable increase in capital spending and revenues, some of which is supplemented by grant funds. The $188,000 in expenditures from the capital fund more than doubles the projected $59,601 projected expenditures for the current fiscal year. Most other budget lines are comparable to the current fiscal year.
Tanner said the capital projects include tree planting and repaving the sidewalks on Williston Avenue and reconstructing the communications center in the fire department.
“The operating surplus is being used to satisfy capital projects. A capital project has a long useful life,” he said.
The villages projected revenue for 2014-15 is $2.4 million, which is $48,287 higher than in the adopted budget for that year.
Meanwhile, the budget projects $2.3 million in spending for 2014-15, about $12,500 below the adopted budget, according to the budget.
Tanner said the village’s recurring revenues satisfy recurring expenditures, a sign of fiscal strength.
The village, he said, continues to offer services, like Little League and a library, that make East Williston an attractive place to live.
“We’re continuing to provide key services to our residents, services that are residents and also attract new residents,” Tanner said. “They’re attracted to the life we’re able to offer both in the environment and in the social activities and family life.”
