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RFH 2010, News

Board Approves Budget With Huge Pension Cost Increase

Wed, Apr 14, 2010

The 2010-2011 village budget of $7,521,760 and a tax rate of $12.77 per $1,000 of assessed value were unanimously approved by the village Board of Trustees Tuesday.

However, included in the budget was a huge jump in what the village pays into New York State Retirement Fund employee pensions. The pensions for different village employees increased from 38 percent to 58 percent. The total cost to the village was about $100,000.

Village Clerk Ronda Winn said this won't be the last year the village will see such large jumps in pension contributions. She said this is the start of a trend that she expects to last for about the next four years.

Winn told the board the cost of health insurance for village employees also increased 18 percent in the new budget.

At the same time, the village expects to lose sales tax revenues it receives from Madison County, which takes in all sales taxes and apportions them based on property values in the various communities. Mayor Sue McVaugh says the village's taxable valuation has dropped by about $600,000 due to the loss of two properties: a home on Hamilton Street owned by Colgate (the former Holcomb house) and the DKE (Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity) house on Broad Street.

The village is researching why the DKE house, which is not occupied, is not on the tax rolls as it is not part of Colgate. Unlike other fraternity and sorority houses, the DKE house was not purchased by the university and kept on the tax rolls.

Also on Tuesday, the board:

+ approved a change to the local law regarding the number of parking spaces for a hotel in a B-1 zone. This was prompted by renovations at the Colgate Inn. Hotels/motels/inns in the B-1 are required to have at least one parking space per sleeping room and more based on other uses. The change allows the Inn to have far fewer parking spaces that previously outlined by the law.

+ heard from the Hamilton Business Alliance that it endorsed the concept of the Living Communities retirement development at Five Trees, and urged the village help facilitate its creation;

+ heard a request from MAD Art, Inc. to hold an art show and sale on the village green during the Syracuse Symphony concert, July 8 at 8 p.m. Mayor McVaugh said pledges for $10,000 of the $15,000 it costs to have the concert have been secured;

+ heard a request from Dr. Richard Cohen to have a plaque installed at Hooks Wiltse Field. He was asking the village to pay the $1,177 for the bronze 18" x 18" plaque;

+ discussed formation of a commission of people to oversee the care of the Lee Brown Coye mural, recently secured through a fund-raising effort and donated to the village. The committee will have three to five people from the village;

+ learned the town will begin a property reevaluation process beginning in June. Currently properties are at 78.5 percent of value and Supervisor Kuiper said they need to be at 100 percent. The process is expected to begin in June and be done by the end of the year. The last time there was a reevaluation was five years ago.

 

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