The Village of Great Neck continued its virtual public hearing Tuesday on the tentative $10.14 million budget for fiscal 2020-2021, an increase of $107,680, or 1.07 percent from last year.
The village plans to spend $2.09 million, or 20.6 percent, of its budget on general government support, an increase of $116,600, or 5.92 percent, from just over $1.97 million.
This year, parking violation expenses have increased by $47,500, or 44 percent, from $106,800 last year to $154,300 this year, according to the budget.
These increases, according to a village official, are a result of the hiring of a second full-time parking enforcement officer, a $30,000 purchase of a new vehicle for that officer, and other technology used for officers while on the job.
Revenue from taxes makes up an even 72 percent of the tentative budget’s revenue, with the rest coming from a combination of appropriated reserves, department revenue, state aid, and fines, fees, and other miscellaneous payments.
Homestead properties will be taxed at 2.57 per $1,000 of assessed value, remaining virtually the same as last year. Non-homestead properties, which are mainly commercial buildings and places with five or more residential units, will see a slight decrease in the tax rate from 4.05 per $1,000 of assessed value to 4.035.
Clerk and Treasurer Abraham Cohan said the base proportions have not yet been provided by the village’s assessors. “As far as the taxable value of the village, I will hopefully get those figures soon,” he said.
The village has also budgeted just shy of $1.88 million for public safety, which includes traffic control, fire protection, and safety inspection. The public safety costs increased by $52,700, or 2.88 percent, from last year, according to the budget.
The biggest portion of this comes from the $546,000 safety inspection allocation, which increased by $37,700, or 7.42 percent, from last year’s $508,300, according to the budget.
General and community environment costs are also projected to increase from $1.24 million to just shy of $1.3 million, a difference of $55,500, or 4.4 percent.
This is largely due to refuse and garbage costs increasing from nearly $1.18 million to $1.22 million. An extra $15,000 is allocated for repairs to equipment and another $14,000 is earmarked for personal services.
Street cleaning costs are budgeted to increase by an even $5,000 from $36,100 last year to $41,100 this year.
The transportation budget, which goes toward items like snow removal and street administration and maintenance, is increasing by $42,300, or 3.5 percent, from just shy of $1.2 million last year to $1.24 million this year.
The meeting was held virtually via Zoom and was a continuation of the initial public hearing for the budget on March 31.
The trustees agreed to continue the public hearing on the tentative budget on Tuesday, April 28. Information on how to properly join and submit comments during the meeting are available on the village’s website, https://www.greatneckvillage.org/.
This article has been updated to correct and update the village’s expenses regarding parking violations.
