Update: Oct. 5, 9 p.m.
As Town of Batavia councilwomen Patti Michalak and Sharon White, and Deputy Supervisor Dan Underhill pored over line items and monetary appropriations contained in the town's 2017 tentative budget, Supervisor Gregory Post provided an insight into the numbers that will effect the municipality's residents the most: the projected tax rate.
Post, while pointing out that uncertainties remain in the areas of sales tax revenue, health insurance costs, state mandates and taxable assessed valuation, indicated that town residents could be looking at a tax rate of $2.64 over the next fiscal year. This is a $1.24 increase over 2016's tax rate of $1.42, which was the town's first property tax since 1980.
A tax rate of $2.64 per thousand of assessed value equates to a yearly bill of $237.60 to the homeowner with a house assessed at $90,000.
The supervisor's budget includes $475,000 from the town's unexpended fund balance, which will drop to $1.3 million. Post said that amount in reserve is necessary to ensure that the level of services provided by the town continues.
"We're looking to keep our unrestricted fund balance around $1.5 million; that's the model we use," Post said. "But until we get valid, solid numbers, we won't know the final (tax) rate. I expect that this will be changing."
Post said business development in the town has elevated the total property assessment from $320 million to $379 million over the past five years, a trend that helps reduce the tax rate.
He said he is confident that the assessed value will continue to increase over the next five years when many of the multimillion dollar companies' PILOTs (payments in lieu of taxes) run out and they have to pay their full amount of tax.
"If this leads to growth of our excess fund balance, then I will definitely be in favor of giving back to the people of the town, either in the form of a rebate or lower tax rates," he added.
Post said he was proud of the fact that the town has no debt -- "all of our buildings are paid for and we have no big (municipal) bonds hanging over our heads," he noted -- and cited the town's ability to attract business.
"We have to partner with Genesee County, the city of Batavia, (Genesee County) economic development (Center) and New York State to bring some purity to the process so businesses will invest their millions of dollars," he said. "And thus far we have been very successful. We're still the hub of what's happening now and this is a positive sign (for the future)."
Previous report:
In a couple of hours, Batavia Town Supervisor Gregory Post will be distributing his 2017 tentative budget, an $8.5 million spending plan that currently calls for $1 million to be raised through property taxes.
The budget for the general and highway funds shows appropriations of $5.1 million with estimated revenues of $3.6 million. To close the gap, $475,000 will come from the town's unexpended fund balance and the remaining $1 million as the tax levy.
Post said his team is in the process of calculating the tax rate (the amount per thousand of assessed valuation) and he expects it to release that figure later today.
In 2016, a half-million dollars were raised via a tax rate of $1.42 per thousand that translated to a yearly tax bill of $127.80 for a house assessed at $90,000. It was the first property tax in the Town of Batavia since 1980.
Special district budgets -- Batavia fire districts, sewer districts 1 and 2, and the combined water districts -- have been set at $3.4 million, increasing the overall budget to $8,597,788, more than $400,000 greater than the town's 2016 budget.
"This year's budget has been more impacted by the special districts that are financed completely on their own," Post said. "They're paid for by the customers who benefit from these services."
Concerning the highway department budget, Post said that he is hoping to place some money -- around $100,000 -- into reserves for the first time, and to put forth a spending plan that takes into account rising costs that will "enable us to pay for the work that needs to be done."
As was the case last year, the supervisor is proposing 3-percent increases in salaries for the town clerk, justices, highway superintendent, and engineering and building and safety department personnel. Salaries of the elected town officials will not increase under the tentative plan.
The Town Board will consider the budget at its Oct. 19 meeting and a public hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 9.
