The Newark Village Board has approved a budget that keeps the tax rate flat as well as water and sewer rates.
“The great news is for the fourth time in five years, we’ve been able to keep the tax rate flat,” Mayor Jonathan Taylor said. “And we’re still able to provide all the public safety services, like the police department, and maintain quality of life.”
The more than $10.5 million budget is down nearly $89,000 from last year. The tax rate of $13.43 per thousand dollars of assessed value remains the same for the 2018 fiscal year. That means a property owner with a property assessed at $100,000 will pay $1,343 on the 2018 tax bill. The village did report that assessed property values did go up nearly $3 million to $312,480,608 due to properties that were only being partially assessed that are now fully on the tax rolls.
Taylor said the budget includes $500,000 for road paving. Although that money will be bonded, it has no impact on the budget, Taylor said, because a previous bond has been paid, and the new bond payment will simply replace the old.
“There is no change in the debt service,” the mayor, adding that the board has done careful planning to keep the village’s debt down.
Taylor said there is considerable planning throughout the budget process and the year to ensure the tax rate is kept flat.
The village police department makes up some 43 percent of the entire budget and it is also where the a lot of planning is necessary to maintain the department, including planned vehicle replacements to keep the fleet in tip-top shape.
The water and sewer funds did see some increases that did not affect rates for the coming year. The increase is the water fund is due to necessary improvements as part of the Route 88 project.
-Tammy Whitacre, fingerlakes1.com
