Village Budget Public Hearing Tonight

The Village of Lindenhurst will hold a public hearing on a proposed 2014 budget Tuesday night. 

The proposed budget $11.8 million budget, according to Newsday, represents a 5.5 percent increase from last year's budget. 

It also would increase Village taxes by 8.2 percent, or about $60 a year for the average homeowner. 

Village administrator-clerk Shawn Cullinane told Newsday that increase is due in part to damage from Hurricane Sandy, rising retirement costs and interest payments that are set to begin in the summer on a $5.9 million bond to build the new main firehouse. 

The Village Board already voted at a recent meeting to allow themselves to pierce the state's two-percent tax cap. 

The public hearing begins at 7:30 p.m. at Village Hall.