The five incorporated villages of Port Washington adopted their 2019-20 budgets, which range from $781,112 to $12.2 million, over the last month.
Manorhaven had the largest increase of the five villages, adopting a budget of just under $4.6 million, which is a 10 percent increase from the current fiscal year’s budget of $4.14 million.
Property taxes will increase by about $89,000, or 2.9 percent, in Manorhaven.
Revenue generated from the village’s permit and licensing fees increased by 202 percent in the newly adopted budget. The current budget’s revenue from licenses and permits was $178,500 and this category has jumped to $539,325 for the 2019-20 budget.
Manorhaven is one of the few villages to see their state aid increase this budget season with an increase over $50,000 in aid for the village highway fund and an additional $18,216 from sales tax.
The largest increases in spending in the village are for contractual services such as the $95,000 increase for the sewer contract with the Port Washington Water District and a $35,000 increase for garbage services.
There is a $50,000 increase for shared services, which is mainly from the addition of $35,000 in the budget for building improvements. There is also a $32,500 hike in spending on traffic equipment.
A $64,555 increase in the village’s debt service mainly results from bond notes which total $55,000.
On the other hand, the Village of Baxter Estates reduced its budget by 2.6 percent for a total of $781,112.
Revenue that is to be collected from property taxes in the next fiscal year is $618,868, a 2.2 percent increase from the amount collected for the prior budget.
State aid for the adopted budget was $6,100 less than what was received from the state for the 2018-19 budget.
Total revenue in Baxter Estates, excluding property tax, is projected to be $85,800, which is 6 percent lower than the estimated revenue of $91,300 in the current budget.
Some of the village’s only increases in spending for the adopted budget were the fees for services used by the village, such as for the Village Court, an engineer and contractual services for the clerk’s department and the Building Department.
Meanwhile, the Village of Sands Point passed a $12.2 million budget that is more than 15 times the size of Baxter Estates’ budget and a 1.92 percent increase over Sands Point’s current budget.
The revenue acquired from property taxes was raised to $9.54 million, an increase of 0.13 percent.
The village is seeing a spike in its revenue from payments in lieu of taxes, which is a set amount a company pays instead of property tax, to $200,659 from $20,420.
Sands Point Mayor Edward Adler attributed the increase in PILOT payments to a change in the state law that prohibits the village from taxing PSEG. The company will instead pay a set amount.
The largest reductions in spending in the newly adopted budget are a $95,225 drop in the total funds allocated for administration and a $343,180 decrease in spending for police personnel.
Adler said the drop in spending on police personnel is a result of multiple retirements resulting in the hiring of less senior officers who are paid less than their predecessors.
The most significant increases in Sands Point’s budget are $300,000 for roads, $84,797 for police benefits and $17,460 for fire protection.
Adler said the increase in the funds allocated for roads is due to the completion of a bond in the current fiscal year and the village having to pick up the expense that the bond covered.
In regard to state aid, the budget reflects a $3,000 decrease for the village, although there is a $12,000 increase in the amount received through the state highway program and another $25,000 increase in mortgage tax.
The Village of Flower Hill adopted a budget of $4.15 million for the coming fiscal year.
The budget represents a 7.68 percent increase over the current budget. Village property taxes will be raised by 0.75 percent.
The approved budget includes funds for a new truck for the Highway Department. If the truck were to be excluded, the adopted budget would represent an increase of only 1.1 percent from the current budget.
Flower Hill projects a $60,000 increase in funds received for building permits. There is also a $20,000 increase in the amount received from the mortgage tax and a $20,000 increase from the state for the village highway fund.
The largest increases in Flower Hill’s expenses are a $229,500 increase in the street maintenance fund, a $39,300 increase for parks and recreation, and a $30,600 increase in funds allocated for fire protection.
The village projects it will spend $20,000 less on health insurance in the coming fiscal year than the current one.
Port Washington North’s adopted budget was increased by $563, or 0.02 percent, from the current budget to $2,467,433.
The property tax levy will be increased by $37,000, or 2.77 percent, to $1.375 million.
The increase in property taxes is mostly to cover a reduction in aid that the village receives from the county and state and to pay for small increases in various services used by the village.
