Proposed 2017 New Rochelle Budget Will Require Tax Cap Override

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The City of New Rochelle proposed a budget for 2017 that would require an override of the state’s tax cap legislation.

City Manager Charles B. Strome III said Thursday the $202 million budget preserves and enhances essential services, while investing in New Rochelle’s infrastructure.

The proposed tax rate increase is 6.72 percent, well above the 2 percent cutoff.

Strome said that, since the tax cap calculation doesn’t exempt the cost of capital projects, as a number of municipalities have requested, an override is necessary.

“The proposed budget is a responsible financial plan that includes funding for the further restoration of public safety services and a robust investment in the city’s infrastructure, while maintaining an adequate rainy day fund,” he said.

Strome said the capital plan included in the proposed budget spans 10 years at a cost of $149.9 million and includes the relocation of the public works facility, fire station upgrades, complete streets and many parks and environmental projects.

Non-functioning and inefficient trucks in the public works, fire and police departments will also be replaced.

Union contractual obligations for employee salaries, health insurance increases and right-sizing the workforce account for the remainder of the rise in expenses in the proposed budget, Strome said.

“The $4.1 million or 7.36 percent increase to the tax levy equates to a tax rate increase of 6.72 percent because our tax base increased by $1.6 million this past year,” he said.

The proposed tax increase for the average homeowner is $227.

Strome said that the increase above the tax cap of 4.84 percent is a one-time increase that funds the capital plan and equates to $164 or less than 1 percent of the average household tax bill.

Copies of the proposed budget are available in the city clerk’s office, at the New Rochelle Public Library and on the city’s website.

Budget review meetings will be held in November and December.

A public hearing will be held Dec. 1 in advance of the adoption of a tax rate in December.

Photo caption: Finance Commissioner Tracy Yogman and City Manager Chuck Strome detail the proposed budget for 2017. Photo credit: City of New Rochelle.