Great Neck Estates adopts $9.5 million budget

Great Neck Estates Mayor William Warner, as seen at a previous meeting, listens as someone speaks. (Photo by Janelle Clausen)
Great Neck Estates Mayor William Warner, as seen at a previous meeting, listens as someone speaks. (Photo by Janelle Clausen)

Great Neck Estates trustees on Monday approved their 2018-19 proposed $9.5 million budget, which is about $74,392 – about 0.78 percent – higher than the current $9.43 million budget.

The spending plan, which will take effect in June, features a decrease in the tax rate but, due to the increased assessed value of village homes, an overall increase in the tax levy from $7.67 million to $7.74 million.

Revenue from other sources like parking meters, permits, fees and fines – worth $1.5 million – is the second biggest source, followed by an appropriated fund balance worth $250,000.

Employee benefits, which include retirement funds, Social Security, workers’ compensation and health insurance, will see the most significant increase in the budget, rising $134,983 from $2.17 million to $2.3 million.

Employee medical, dental and optical insurance, which are grouped into one line item, will rise from $1.01 million to $1.1 million, workers’ compensation costs will increase from $108,000 to $140,000 and New York police retirement costs will increase from $550,000 to $570,000.

Social Security and Medicare costs will also go up from $263,026 to $275,000 and state disability insurance costs will go up slightly from $7,750 to $7,957.

State employee retirement costs will be the only decrease within the employee benefits, going down $20,000 from $220,000 to $200,000, while state unemployment costs will remain the same at $5,000.

Public safety costs, currently the largest item within the budget at $3.73 million, will decrease to $3.7 million.

The main driver of the public safety costs is the Great Neck Estates Police Department, which accounts for approximately $2.81 million in the adopted budget. This is $35,290 lower than the current $2.84 million.

In the adopted budget, Fire Department and water costs are projected to decrease from $702,528 to $698,131, while general safety costs will go up from $188,880 to $191,121.

Government support costs are also projected to decrease, from $1 million to $994,004.

Culture and recreational items like the village parks, pool and center for the arts will increase from $828,400 in the current budget to $854,623 in the adopted budget. This increase is mainly from maintaining the parks, whose costs will go up from $552,700 to $592.323, a rise of $39,623.

The second biggest item in the culture and recreation area of the budget is the pool, accounting for $260,300. The adopted budget calls for a $9,900 decrease from the current $270,200 budget.

Home and community costs, which cover sewer expenses and a refuse and garbage collection contract, will rise $22,000 from $583,000 to $605,000. This is primarily due to the garbage contract increasing $20,000 from $390,000 to $410,000.

Transportation-related items, which include street maintenance, snow removal, street lighting and off street parking, are expected to go down from $532,307 to $517,385, just shy of $15,000.

The village will also pay $427,766 toward debt, according to the adopted budget, which is $44,698 less than the $472,464 in the current budget.

About the author

Janelle Clausen

Janelle Clausen is a reporter with Blank Slate Media covering the Great Neck peninsula and Town of North Hempstead. She previously freelanced for the Amityville Record, Massapequa Post and the Babylon Beacon. When not reporting, the south shore native can...
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