Village of Warwick taxes proposed to go up 2.7 percent
Public hearing set for Monday, By Linda Smith Hancharick Warwick Village of Warwick residents may see a tax increase this fiscal year totaling 2.7 percent in their village taxes. That is what is proposed by the Village Board of Trustees. A public hearing will be held on Monday, April 16, at the Village Hall at 7:30 p.m. The general fund, which includes all salaries, benefits, insurance and police services, is slated to increase to $4,497,942, with taxes going up 4.8 percent over last year’s. An increase in the sewer land tax budget of 12.9 and a decrease of 63.3 percent in the water land tax are also part of this budget, bringing the total increase to 2.7 percent. Taxpayers can expect to pay $24.59 per $1,000 of assessed value for the general fund; $18.60 per $1,000 for the sewer fund, and $3.21 per $1,000 for the water tax. Last year, the rates were $23.46 per $1,000 for the general fund, $16.47 per $1,000 for sewer, and $8.75 per $1,000 for water. The sewer and water taxes are applied only to the land value of the property. Each of these amounts went down last year. With the increases this year, taxpayers would pay $1.21 less per $1,000 in the general budget than they did in 2005-06. For water, the decrease is greater still. In 2005-06 residents paid $9.06 per $1,000; this year, $3.21 per $1,000. The sewer tax would increase seven cents per $1,000 over the 2005-06 fiscal year. A home that is assessed at $50,000, or less than one quarter of market value, would pay $1,229.50 toward the general fund. This would be an increase of $56.50 for the average taxpayer over last year’s. A home on 20,000 square feet of land assessed at $11,500 would be taxed at $250.82 for sewer and water taxes, down $39.21 from last year’s amount. Why the big drop in the water tax? Mayor Michael Newhard said the village has been paying off debt over the past few years, causing the tax rate to drop dramatically. “This will continue for us,” said Newhard. “We have been very pro-active instead of reactive when it comes to our infrastructure. We have to keep up on it.” The biggest increases in this budget are the same as in budgets past police services, insurance and professional services. For example, engineering contracts increased 34 percent to $94,000. Police services, which are contracted through the Town of Warwick, will cost the village $60,000 more this year, an increase of 5.82 percent. The village’s insurance is going up 10 percent to $132,000. Although the total amount of the budget actually dropped dramatically from last year’s total - $8,239,125 to $7,165,012 - the more than $1 million was actually for the Park Lane sewer project that never materialized. The village did a study of the sewer pipes and found that the system did not have to be replaced. Instead, they will monitor the flows and make fixes where needed, something that will save a large sum. The amount of the general fund shows a large increase as well, even though the portion passed on to tax payers is not so big. The reason for that is the John Street sidewalk project, Newhard said. The project, which will include street resurfacing and new sidewalks and curbing, must be budgeted for in the current budget. However, this project will be reimbursed with federal money coming through the county, not with village taxpayers’ money. This year’s bigger projects include improvements to the Stanley-Deming basketball court, a multi-year restoration of the exterior of Village Hall, a sewer pump upgrade at the Middle School and the long-awaited new water booster pump for Hilltop Avenue. “I believe this budget exemplifies our financial responsibility to Warwick taxpayers,” said Newhard. “I hope others will follow our lead.”