Warwick budget outlined

Warwick — The Warwick Valley School Budget will be presented to voters next Tuesday and there will be only one bite at the cherry. The board and Superintendent, Dr. Frank Greenhall, will revert to a pre-determined reduced spending estimate should the vote be rejected. Greenhall presented the budget to the public on Monday night and gave his reasons for deciding not to offer a second vote to residents. “It doesn’t make sense for us to go out and say here is our best budget then go back if it doesn’t pass and say here is our real best,” Greenhall said. Should the voters accept that it’s the administration’s best, the $75 million proposed budget represents a 4.55 percent increase from last year. This is the second lowest increase seen in the district in the past 12 years. Contracted staff salaries and benefits eat up more than half of that increase n 2.73 percent or $1,975,935. The associated tax increase to homeowners will be an average 1.15 percent. What that will do to the amount residents pay depends on the change in home valuations. “The worst case scenario will be a $59.60 increase in the year on a home valued at $334,000,” Greenhall said. “A minus $27.60 (the best case scenario) assumes the rate of re-evaluation will go up 1.75 percent. So if we were standing here in a formal perspective the budget is going to go down for the average taxpayer in that category.” Polls will be open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday with three locations: Pine Island Elementary, Dorothy C. Wilson Education Center and King Elementary. Residents with questions on the budget can call the district hot line at 845-987-9873.