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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-10-24-PH-Budget-FINAL-minutes1 PUBLIC HEARING 2018 Preliminary Budget Town of Ulysses October 24, 2017 Audio of the minutes are available on the website at ulysses.ny.us. The meeting was held at the Ulysses Town Hall at 10 Elm Street, Trumansburg. ATTENDANCE: PRESENT: Supervisor- Liz Thomas 1st Deputy Supervisor- Nancy Zahler Board members- Michael Boggs, Rich Goldman, John Hertzler Clerk - Carissa Parlato Bookkeeper- Nina Thompson OTHERS PRESENT: (none) OPENING THE PUBLIC HEARING: Ms.Thomas made a motion to open the public hearing at 7p.m., seconded by Mr. Boggs and passed unanimously. She introduced the other town staff and board members in attendance. SUBJECT OF HEARING: Ms. Thomas noted that the subject pf the hearing was the 2018 Preliminary Budget and that copies of were available in the back of the room by the door. MEETING NOTICE: Ms. Thomas noted that the public hearing was set by a resolution of the Town Board on October 10, 2017, and the legal notice appeared in the Ithaca Journal on October 18, 2017. She presented the affidavit of publication. BUDGET NARRATIVE: Ms. Thomas gave a narrative of the budget, focusing on the following: • The Town Board is extremely aware of the terrific tax burden on property owners. • The budget process began in September, with department heads submitting their budget requests to the Supervisor. Then the Bookkeeper and Supervisor worked to produce the Tentative Budget, which was submitted to the Town Board, who met on 9/26, 9/28, 10/5, 10/10 to create the Preliminary Budget. After this Public Hearing, the board can make additional changes before the final vote. • Who pays what? o Town and village residents pay taxes to the town into the General (A) and Highway (DA) funds. o EMS/Fire – town residents pay one rate, villagers another on village tax bill o Zoning/Planning (B) and highway (DB) funds paid using sales tax – no property tax. Village residents do not contribute to the B funds. • Tax Levy = the dollar amount needed to fill the gap between the revenues (income) and appropriations (expenses) in order to balance the budget. o The Tax Rate = the tax levy ÷ total assessed value (TAV) of the town’s property= what homeowners pay. o The tax levy is what NYS requires towns to cap (unless overridden). • The t own must budget for expected needs unexpected events occur, such as: o above average snowfalls, o flooding that causes damage above and beyond what is expected, o Equipment breakdowns, etc. o Change in personnel. • For a home valued at $187,000: o Town residents will pay $484 (this includes Fire-EMS)- an increase of $1.27 over 2017. o Village residents will pay $248- a $5.63 increase (Villagers pay for Fire-EMS on village tax bill). • Total budget = $2,997,589 ($279,617 less than budgeted in 2017) TOWN BOARD MEETING October 24, 2017 2 OTHER COMMENTS: Ms. Zahler noted that highway expenses are high but that reflects the town’s commitment to making sure that the equipment is safe and up to date. As no members of the public were in attendance, there were no further comments. ADJOURN: Ms. Thomas made a motion to clo se the hearing at 7:11 pm, seconded by Mr. Goldman and passed unanimously. Respectfully submitted by Carissa Parlato on 11/6/17.