The East Williston Village Board unanimously approved a 2013-124 village budget of $2.82 million at its Monday night meeting that will exceed the state-mandated cap for the second consecutive year.
Under the budget, the village tax levy will rise 5.6 percent from 1.87 million to $1.97 million.
Before approving the budget after a public hearing, the village trustees unanimously enacted a local law authorizing the trustees to exceed the 2 percent state-mandated tax cap for municipalities. The $1.87 million tax levy supporting the $2.35 million budget for 2012-2013 is a 4.07 percent increase from the 2012-13 budget.
“Believe me, this is not our pleasure to do this,” said village Trustee Robert Vella Jr. “If we want to maintain the tenor of the our village, we have to make these expenditures. It’s not our intention to make it onerous on residents or ourselves.”
Included in the increase is the East Williston Fire Department budget, which will rise from $193,338 to $219,778, according to village officials. The increase, the officials said, was a result of the decision to replace individual firefighter’s equipment, including helmets, radio supplies and turnout gear. Fire truck maintenance will more than double to $14,148 next year from $6,659 in the current year. New oxygen packs will cost $9,080, up from $5,000 this year.
Village Deputy Mayor Bonnie Parente, the board’s fire department liaison, said the new oxygen pack system is a required change for fire department equipment.
Vella said “a lot of essential things were put off” for the fire department.
Total expenditures for the village debt service fund will also rise with a year-to-year increase of nearly $20,000 – from $479,029 to $498,059.
Village treasurer Michael Delury said virtually all of the debt service is related to the reconstruction of the Village Hall, which included a new public library.
Village of East Williston Mayor David Tanner said incurring debt is the only way that municipalities pay for capital projects, such as the Village Hall makeover.
“It’s clear that we’re incurring a lot of debt. The public is on the hook for paying it. And the tax cap is being raised without the residents voting on it,” said resident John Azzaro.
Tanner agreed that the 25 percent of the budget representing debt service payments is “on the high side.” But he said public hearings were held when the village board planned road improvements.
“You got your value on the construction,” Tanner said of the Village Hall project and the community activities made possible by the new building.
Vella also agreed that the debt service appeared high.
“I don’t disagree that it’s glaring,” he said.
In other general fund expenditures, the budget projects $70,000 for tree maintenance next year, up from $50,000 in the current year.
Apart from exceeding the cap, residents expressed concern about the village water rates.
Total water expenditures, which are supported by fees rather than taxes, are projected to rise to $1,078,225 next year from $689,450 in the current year. The budget includes $270,000 for installation of 868 water meters throughout the village, $75,000 in labor costs to install the meters and $22,500 in a contingency fund.
“It’s almost ridiculous what we’re paying for water here,” said resident Joseph Marangiello. “And it’s ridiculous to pay for new meters when we don’t have the water thing sorted out.”
Tanner said aged water meters were faulty and the village had trouble gaining access to homes to check meters.
“The village had significant issues with getting accurate water usage data,” Tanner said. “It’s difficult for us to set a water rate because if’s difficult to determine what’s being used.”
Tanner said the village imposed a water rate of $5.47 per thousand gallons of water based on the $3.83 rate its water supplier, the Village of Williston Park, set two years ago. He said the village is not paying the $4.33 rate the Williston Park imposed last year.
The two villages have been locked in a legal battle over the rates, with the East Williston board filing two lawsuits against its neighbor village in the past two years.
Vella said the cost of water is “one of our main concerns” and said more accurate water meter readings will save money in the future.
“It’s going to be a cost savings to residents because they’ll be charged for real usage,” Vella said.
He said the board must charge residents water rates above the Williston Park rates to cover costs of repairs in its water system infrastructure and the cost of metering and meter reading.
On fire department costs, resident Michael Kelipire suggested the village should make the fire department length of service award program – a $65,000 recurring annual cost – partly contributory.
Parente said the program, which provides the village’s volunteer firemen pension benefits based on years of service, “is the only remuneration the fire department gets.” She said the maximum benefit is $800 per year after 40 years of service.
Former village Trustee Joseph Masters, a 15-year fire department veteran, said the pension awards program was established in 1990 to “stabilize” membership in the village volunteer fire service.
“If it wasn’t for that, we would be undermanned in the fire department,” Masters said.
Responding to a question raised about a bond to be floated to cover the cost of a $105,000 lawsuit settlement, Vella said the cost of the settlement is not in the current budget. He said the settlement was much less than the amount sought in the suit, which he said was a “contractual dispute” related to the Village Hall reconstruction.
In other developments:
• Village attorney Jeffrey Blinkoff said the village planning board will be hearing an application to partition the property at 8 Sumter Avenue, where the condition of an abandoned house caused the village to take legal action against the owner, John Muzio.
Blinkoff said he property is under contract for purchase and the applicant intends to build two houses on the property. The partition, if approved, would then require a variance from the village zoning board of appeals to comply with requirements for property frontage
Meanwhile, Blinkoff said, the board has awarded a contract for demolition of the structure if the deal on the property isn’t consummated.
• Parente commended East Williston Fire Department Chief Patrick Theodore for his two years of service. Daniel Crambitt, 1st assistant chief, will succeed Theodore this month
• Village Trustee Christopher Siciliano said sidewalk repairs throughout the village will start this month.
• The board voted to hold the first village-wide tag sale on July 13 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. with a rain date of July 14.
• Village Trustee Caroline DeBenedittis said a children’s festival will be held on the Village Green on May 3 followed by a Quatro de Mayo celebration for adults on May 4.
