Baxter Estates trustees presented a draft budget of approximately $896,600 for 2023-2024, a slight decrease from the current budget of $905,249, at a workshop meeting Tuesday night.
The trustees did a line-by-line review of the budget, discussing potential changes and adjustments with Village Clerk and Treasurer Meghan Kelly.
The village is also projecting a tax levy limit adjusted for transfers plus exclusions to be about $675,799. This is an increase of about 2.2% compared to $661,358 in the current fiscal year. New York State Law allows for a 2% increase in real property taxes without passing legislation, but the 2.2% increase includes the allowable growth factor of 0.8%.
While the budget will potentially decrease, the village is projecting increases in budgeting for contractual services, such as alarm system and maintenance as well as insurance and benefits, including state retirement, Social Security and Medicare, Workers’ Compensation and unemployment insurance.
Other tentative budget increases include an 87.5% increase in money allotted to buildings, intended for Village Hall repairs, and a 300% increase in refunds of real property taxes.
The village is projecting that its total revenues will amount to about $222,000 and tax revenues to about $674,000. Kelly said the village is “greatly under-budgeting” its revenues, which she said is a good ractice.
The village budget must be presented by the clerk to the board of trustees by March 20. The board then has until the end of April to adopt the budget.
