Village Preparing Tax Cap Override Provision

While actual budget work is a few months off, the Babylon Village Board is preparing the necessary paperwork for exemption from the state's 2 percent tax levy cap requirement.

At Tuesday night’s work session meeting, held prior to the board meeting, officials instructed the village attorney to begin preparing an override provision and indicated the board will approve the law at a future meeting.

Babylon Village is not alone in choosing the override option. Several hundred villages in the state have already passed an exemption law. Village officials noted the provision is precautionary as budget review and development has not yet begun.

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo approved the tax levy cap measure last year. It places a 2 percent or rate of inflation cap, whichever is lower, on a levy increase.

A village, as well as county, town or special district, is allowed to exceed the levy cap if at least 60 percent of the members of its governing body vote in favor of a override provision.

The override vote must be held prior to a budget vote, according to the Empire Center for New York State Policy. For villages, that requires a village board vote. For school districts, it would be a tax payer vote.

Lindenhurst Village also but its recently adopted budget came in under the cap.

The New York State Government Finance Officers Association has produced a pdf presentation explaining the tax levy mandate and how it is calculated.