A town board public hearing has been set for Oct. 18 on a local law authorizing the town to pierce the tax levy limitation for fiscal year 2017.
If the town board adopts the law, it will be legally authorized to exceed the tax levy limitation with its 2017 budget. If it subsequently adopts a budget that pierces the so-called tax cap, it will be the second time it does so since the state implemented the tax levy limitation in 2012.
Riverhead pierced the tax levy cap with its budget for the current fiscal year: a $92.7 million overall spending plan approved by a 4-1 vote last November. The 2016 budget, which for the first time in years did not rely on the general reserve fund to cover operating expenses, increased the town-wide tax rate by 4.08 percent — $2 per thousand over the 2015 town tax rate.
The New York State comptroller has set the tax levy limitation for fiscal year 2017 at .68 percent. But built-in adjustments provided by law take tax base growth into account, bumping Riverhead Town’s 2017 tax levy limit to 1.4 percent, Supervisor Sean Walter told board members at last week’s work session.
Exceeding the 1.4 percent tax levy limit will still be required, Walter said.
He said “quite a few municipalities” are in the same position this year. (The Southold Town Board on Tuesday also scheduled an Oct. 18 public hearing on a local law authorizing it to exceed the tax levy limit for 2017.)
“The budget is coming in at around 4.9 percent,” he said last week, referring to the tax levy increase he currently foresees. “We’ve done everything we possibly can. I can’t physically go any lower,” he said.
The increases in the town’s health insurance premium next year “ate up 95 percent” of the allowed tax levy increase, Walter said.
“I’m loathed to say it, but if the sale goes through at EPCAL and we get that nonrefundable deposit – that’s a big if — that would mean we would not pierce the tax cap,” Walter said. He said the town cannot build a budget using that income. “Those are funds we don’t know that we’re getting.”
“You can’t live on one-shot revenues,” Councilwoman Jodi Giglio said.
“I’ll reserve my comments until I see the budget,” Councilman James Wooten said.
The supervisor is required by state law to deliver his preliminary budget to the town clerk by Sept. 30.
If the board doesn’t vote to exceed the tax levy limit, it will “have to cut alittle more than $1.2 million out of the budget,” Walter said. “If you can find it in the budget, more power to you,” he said.
“We could find it by cutting services,” Councilman John Dunleavy said. “People want the services but they don’t want us to raise taxes. It’s one or the other.”
The board voted unanimously Tuesday to set the public hearing on the local law authorizing the town to pierce the tax levy cap. It will be held on Oct. 18 at 7 p.m.
There will be a separate public hearing at a later date on the 2017 proposed operating budget itself. By state law, the town board must hold a hearing on its preliminary budget on or before the Thursday immediately following the general election in November.
State law requires the town board to adopt by resolution a final budget for the upcoming fiscal year no later than Nov. 20.
The survival of local journalism depends on your support.
We are a small family-owned operation. You rely on us to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible. Just a few dollars can help us continue to bring this important service to our community.
Support RiverheadLOCAL today.
