Gromack Releases Draft Spending Plan for 2016

The tentative $144 million budget that Clarkstown town Supervisor Alex Gromack is proposing for 2016 would include a 0.34 percent tax rate increase.

The Town Board meets Tuesday and will vote about accepting the spending plan as a preliminary budget. Board members are expected to set a public hearing for Nov. 4.

Among the highlights of the tentative budget:

• Pension costs for both CSEA employees and police, which total $12 million in this year’s budget, would increase by $400,000 in 2016.
• Health care costs would rise more than $400,000 from $14.5 million in 2015 to $14.9 million in 2016.
• The Town will pay over $209,000 in MTA tax to the State of New York.
• More than $7 million dollars in cuts were made to department budgets to reduce the tax rate to 0.34 percent for 2016.
• The $144,183,445 spending plan includes no funds from the town’s surplus.
• The tax rate increase is under the state’s tax cap.

“While unfunded mandates and other external costs increase for the Town, we continue looking for cost savings by reducing the size of our workforce and government in general,” Gromack said in a written statement. “I am committed to reaching further and looking deeper to find ways to save our residents money and still provide the quality of life they expect and deserve living in the Town of Clarkstown.”

Some of the savings, he said, had to do with actions taken a year or more ago:

• The town reduced its full time workforce by 85 employees since the Supervisor took office in 2005, a 15 percent cut.
• In 2013, the Town consolidated the three Town garages, a move that will have short and long range savings of up to $1 million.
• In 2014, the Town consolidated the Receiver of Taxes and Town Clerk’s Office saving $400,000 a year.
• In 2015, the Town purchased more than 4,000 street lights from Orange and Rockland Utilities, which is projected to save the Town $500,000 annually when fully implemented.

“Despite increasing costs, we continue to make fiscally responsible decisions trying to reduce the cost of governing without reducing services,” said Gromack. “While we look to downsize and consolidate government, we are not short changing residents. All the essential services are still being provided from recreation to leaf pick up to snow removal.”

The Town’ currently has a fiscal rating from Standard and Poor’s of AA+/stable outlook.