The Village of Thomaston presented a $2,018,600 budget for 2015-16 on Monday that calls for nearly $400,000 less in spending than in 2014-15 and no increase in the tax rate.
Village Administrator Barbara Daniels said this is the sixth year the tax rate will not change.
Village of Thomaston Mayor Steven Weinberg said the reduction in spending was, in large part, a result of a decrease of $490,000 in contract road repairs – from $873,000 to $350,000.
The village does expect an increase in tax refunds from $35,000 to $60,000.
Weinberg said the number is essentially an educated guess with respect to possible tax refunds.
“It’s just a matter of trying to forecast for certain tax certioraris that are pending that could result in orders to refund taxes up to that amount,” he said.
Another increase in spending will be in tree planting and beautification of the village. The proposed amount for the coming year’s budget is $70,000, while the previous year’s adopted amount was $31,000.
Weinberg said the village would like to plant more trees because of the toll taken on trees in the village by recent storms.
“We would like to plant street trees that will not only beautify the village and be acceptable to residents but will also have no harmful effect to the streets,” Weinberg said.
He said the village is using what is left of a $35,000 grant they received for tree planting to help pay for the increase in plantings.
The village also expects to pay a $34,287 increase – to $325,000 – in contract refuse collection.
Weinberg said the village is in the final year of a three-year contract with the company that collects refuse, and that the price for this year was agreed upon years prior. He said in the first year of the contract, the village received a reduction in price as well.
He said the village expects to collect $1.5 million in taxes and $367,050 in revenue other than taxes. The village, he said, also will use a cash surplus of $122,732 to keep taxes down.
The fiscal year will begin in March and go on until February 2016. A public hearing will be held by the village at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 12 where they will further discuss the budget.
The village will be able to change the budget at the public hearing, Daniels said.
