The Village of Floral Park announced a tentative budget of $35.4 million for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

The $35,429,702 budget represents a $1,566,407 increase from the current year, a 4.5% rise in spending.

General funds amount to $32.6 million for the upcoming fiscal year.

For the village’s library and pool, the tentative budgets are $1.56 million and $1.22 million, respectively. 

The tax rate per $100 of assessed valuation for homeowners will be $14.67, which Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald said in a letter to the village amounts to an increase of $157 in village taxes for an average homeowner with an assessed value of $37,694. 

Annual Village taxes for a home assessed at $37,694 would be $5,530.

The proposed budget has a tax levy increase of 2.83%, which exceeds the state’s applicable tax cap of 2.12%, the mayor said. 

In June 2011, the property tax cap was signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to limit the annual growth of property taxes levied by local governments and school districts to either 2 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is less.

The proposed tax levy increase amounts to a $766,000 increase compared to the tax cap’s limit of a $573,120 increase.

Fitzgerald added in his letter that many costs associated with providing village services continue to rise, specifically health insurance costs, which are projected to rise by 14.95%, or about $600,000.

The village is also planning to add one police officer, creating a total force of 35. 

“The Village Board constantly tries to balance keeping the taxes as low as possible with the need to maintain the services that contribute to making Floral Park a ‘Great Place to Live’,” Fitzgerald said in a statement. “With this balancing act in mind, this budget accomplishes a lot while dealing with the most significant inflationary increase the United States has experienced in quite some time.”

For the Fire Department, the budget is projected to replace a 27-year-old pumper truck with a new one partially financed by the village and state grant. 

Floral Park is also looking into repairing and upgrading facilities and buildings in a cost-efficient manner. Fitzgerald said the village entered into an energy performance contract with Johnson Controls to evaluate multiple projects, including HVAC repairs, library and Firefighters Hall upgrades, a partial roof replacement at the library and installing solar panels on the Department of Public Works building.

The village will hold a budget hearing Wed., April 12, at 8 p.m.