Village officials keep a tight belt on 2012-13 budget
WARWICK The Village of Warwick expects to finish the current fiscal year that ends May 31 under budget by more than $66,000. Village officials said they will carry the money over into the 2012-13 spending plan.
This (budget) by far went the best and we all had the same voice as in the past but a lot of going over the details and justifying what the department heads wanted to do was taken care of upfront, Village Trustee Barry Cheney said in a recent interview. I think it was an excellent change that the mayor made,
The 2012-13 appropriations will total $5,816,412 ,of which $3,187,599 is revenue other than real estate taxes, which include such sources as sales tax, franchise fees, highway capital projects and FEMA due to last years storms.
For 2012-13 the village expects to receive $481,250 for the Parkway Bridge, $101,500 for Mistuck Creek and $145,250 for Pond Hill from FEMA. FEMA is also paying for $154,875 in engineering fees associated with those projects.
The projects are financed at a level of 75 percent by FEMA, 12.5 percent by the state and 12.5 percent by the village.
Last years tax levy was $2,519,171. For purposes of real estate taxation, the village assessor uses an average value of $40,000.
For 2012-13 the average village homeowner will see an increase of 1.15 percent in property taxes or a total of $1,341 compared to $1,325 last year, explained village treasurer Cathy Richards in an interview at Village Hall.
Mortgage Tax revenues down sharply
The village has seen significant reductions in the mortgage tax that is expected to total $50,000 for 2012-13. As a source of revenue, the mortgage tax has declined steadily from 2007-08 when it reached $223,277.
Last year it totaled $78,883 and has been under $90,000 for three consecutive years.
MTA tax Like many employers, the village budgeted for paying the MTA payroll tax that is expected to be $4,696 up from $3,659 budgeted for 2011-12 and the $2,719 expended in 2010-11.
Salaries for Village of Warwick board members are set at $34,824.30 for the mayor; $7,729 for the deputy mayor; and $7,101 for each trustees.
Although the village could have taken a reduction for employee pensions, the village kept pensions intact.
Water more expensive Residents also will see an increase in the cost of water by about 10 percent.
According to Cheney, water rates are increasing for a number of reasons.
First and foremost were bringing the new water filtration plant online, he said. In the past we were only purifying (water) by adding chlorine (but) now we have an intricate system that treats that water.
Although the new system has higher manpower, services, electrical, and chemical costs associated with it, the old system was found to be under the influence of surface water.
The board voted unanimously at the May 7 meeting at Village Hall to adopt the tentative budget for the fiscal year beginning June 1, 2012 and ending May 31, 2013.
By Birgit Bogler