WILSON
Wilson budget plan calls for slight tax hike
WILSON — Plans call for a slight increase in the tax rate as the Wilson Town Board presents its proposed $3.1 million 2010 town budget to residents in a public hearing at 7 p. m. Wednesday in Town Hall.
The proposed tax rate increase of two cents would mean residents would pay $3.91 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, if the budget is adopted as proposed.
“This is the first time I’ve had to raise taxes since I took office (in 2006),” said Supervisor Joseph A. Jastrzemski, who is running unopposed for re-election Tuesday.
“But retirement costs rose from three percent to 11 percent and compensation costs increased from $2,000 to $74,000 with cases that occurred in fire safety and the highway department.
“We have a bare bones budget,” he continued. “We whittled the total appropriations down from $3,176,624 this year to $3,148,034 for next year. But we have less estimated revenue — $2 million this year to $1.9 million for next year.
“We’ve done everything we possibly could (to avoid raising taxes),” he said. “Nobody took a pay raise on the board. We are giving employees just a two-and-a-half percent raise. We’ve cut everywhere we could without cutting services.”
Jastrzemski said the town’s garbage collection contract also increased $97,000 in the proposed 2010 budget, adding yet another financial burden. “And we’re trying to put away just a little money to maintain our equipment, because we don’t want to leave ourselves short,” he added.
“We’re trying to do this responsibly, but it’s been a struggle to maintain taxes, because we’re looking at state mandates and cuts,” Jastrzemski said.
The town has until Nov. 20 to adopt a final budget, according to state guidelines.
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