No village tax increase for East Syracuse for fourth consecutive year

The East Syracuse Village Board has created the 2011-12 fiscal year budget. The new plan will have no village tax increases for the fourth year in a row, The Post-Standard reports. The tax rate remains at $13.50 per $1,000 of assessed value.

The total budget is $4,966,571, decreasing 5 percent from last year’s budget. That includes the general fund budget of $4,781,426 and the sewer fund budget of $185,415. The village board agreed on the fiscal plan Monday night.

According to Mayor Danny Liedka, when the budget process started the village faced an $800,000 shortfall.

“We thought it was insurmountable when we first started,” he said. “We didn’t look at the hand we were dealt with as an excuse to raise taxes.”

Instead, the village focused on streamlining and taking a series of cost-savings steps. Liedka said the village used about $221,000 of its fund balance, which is the smallest amount the village has used in several years. By keeping operating budgets tight, the village has been able to roll money over into the fund each year and use it to help offset any tax increase, he said. Village employees are getting a 2-percent raise this year.

Liedka said the village is saving money in several ways, including eliminating a $20,000 treasurer job and giving those duties to the village clerk for an extra $10,000 in pay.

The village also saved $18,000 by re-bidding its garbage contract and is saving money by having employees contribute 25 percent to the cost of their health insurance.