General News: New Budget Raises Taxes 3.5%
January 23, 2008
The village of Cornwall-on-Hudson board of trustees has approved a $3.5 million budget for 2008-9 that increases taxes by 3-1/2 percent. The new tax rate will be $8.37 per thousand dollars of assessed property value.
During the public hearing about the budget on Tuesday evening, only three residents questioned any of the proposed spending. One resident, Patrick Welch, asked the board to revisit the issue of consolidating the village and town police departments. Mayor Joseph Gross told Welch that he had met earlier this week with town supervisor Kevin Quigley to talk about ways of saving money.
Trustee William Fogarty explained that the budget includes payment on $7 million in debt and revenue anticipation notes (RAN) that the village has been paying off. He noted that the village can’t afford new equipment like a street sweeper and faces constraints on hiring both full and part-time employees. “We want to get rid of this millstone called long-term debt,” Fogarty said, noting that “we do see progress.”
Fogarty also remarked that this year’s budget process, undertaken with Mayor Joseph Gross, was more intense than in other years. Trustee Mark Edsall recognized that the figures this year are realistic and not based on assumptions that are carried over from year-to-year.
Last year's budget increased taxes by 2.5% and water rates by 3%.
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