Village of Great Neck Trustees voted Tuesday to approve a $10,269,694 budget for 2015-2016 that increases spending $916,052 over the current year – or 9.8 percent.
To do so, the village plans to exceed the state mandated 2 percent tax cap with a 7.5 percent increase in the tax levy for the fiscal year, which runs from June 1, 2015 to May 31, 2016.
Village trustees approved a bill last week that gives them the authority to override the tax cap.
Village of Great Neck Mayor Ralph Kreitzman said in a statement released at the board’s meeting that the increase in spending and taxes were required by increasing costs largely mandated by the state and declining state aid.
“In addition to the ever increasing costs of providing government services, we have been subjected to no, or very minor, increases in state aid revenues and to continuing or significant increases in pension, health insurance and other unfunded state mandated costs,” Kreitzman said.
Kreitzman went on to say that with about 20 percent of the village’s real estate tax-exempt trustees residents and businesses had to pay more.
“The village does not have the power to create new revenue sources or impose different taxes to reduce the real estate tax burden on property owners,” Kreitzman said. “Because the law mandates that we balance our budget, the only place we can look in order to accomplish that is real property taxes, which, next year, will account for almost 70 percent of our revenue.”
The budget calls for $7,022,157 to be raised property taxes – $489,917 more than the current year.
The average homeowner, Kreitzman said, will see an increase of about $179 from the current fiscal year. Non-homestead properties will increase by $71 in the next year.
State aid, he said, only accounts for about 3 percent of the village’s revenue.
Although the 2014-2015 general fund of the budget called for $9,353,642 in appropriations and revenue, the budget also called for $3,755,052 to the payment of a bond to improve the now defunct sewer plant. This is the first budget where the village doesn’t have to incorporate for sewer costs.
In December 2013, the Great Neck Water Pollution control District began treating the village’s sewage.
The budget calls for a $151,510 increase in spending for employee benefits – from $1.853 million to $2,004 million – a $281,866 increase in spending on debt service – from $1,189 million to $1,471 million – and a $223,278 increase in spending on public safety – from $1,581 million to $1,803 million.
Village Clerk/Treasurer Joe Gill said the village also plans to spend more money on its building department in the coming year, specifically on new software to help manage the department and a consultant to oversee the purchase of the new village hall, to be located at 265 East Shore Road.
The village plans to spend about $25,000 on the consultant, who will operate as a construction manager for the village hall project. Gill said the consultant would most likely be someone with an engineering background, and would only work part time.
“The idea is to bid out a contract,” Gill said. “We want somebody to go look at the building and make sure it’s what we’re looking for and do inspections”
The village board approved a resolution to purchase property at 265 East Shore Road in February for the construction of a new Village Hall building. The Great Neck School District has expressed interest in buying the current Village Hall building, which is located at 69 Baker Hill Road across the street from the Elizabeth M Baker School.
The school board voted at their meeting March 30 to hire Barrett, Bonacci & Weele, an engineering and surveying firm out of Hauppauge, to do the initial site survey of the Village Hall.
The school board would have to hold a series of public meetings on the possible purchase, and the final purchase would be subject to a referendum vote.
