Village approves budget

WARWICK-The Village Board approved a $4.14 million budget Monday night, increasing residents' taxes in 2005-06 by about 12 percent. Residents will pay $25.80 per $1,000 of assessed value, up from last year's figure of $23.03 per $1,000. A home valued at $200,000 is assessed at 25 percent of that or $50,000. That homeowner's share of taxes would be $1,290, up $138 from last year. That is for the general fund, the largest part of the village's budget. The general fund includes most of the expenditures in the village, including Department of Public Works employees and the office staff. Contracted services, such as police services, accounting, engineering and the village attorney, are also in this fund. The police budget totals $1.655 million this year, or 40 percent of the general fund. The other two components cover the sewer fund and the water fund.The 2005-06 sewer fund land tax will increase to $18.53 per $1,000 of assessed land value, more than double that of last year's $8.86. The water fund land rate is dropping to $9.06, down 79 cents from last year. A home on 20,000 square feet of land assessed at $11,500 would be taxed $213.10 in sewer tax, up from $101.89 last year. The same homeowner will now be paying a water fund tax of $104.20, down from $113.28. The sewer fund goes only toward sewer projects; water fund is spent only on water district projects. The water land tax decreased this year, thanks to the $1 million grant from the state Comptroller's Oil Spill Fund. The sewer fund deficit has expanded over the last two years, according to Mayor Michael Newhard, and is now $3.3 million.