Ossining 2017 Budget Won't Raise Tax Rates: Village Mayor

OSSINING, NY — The Ossining Village Board of Trustees has finalized its 2017 budget, which includes no tax rate increase.

"It is the first time in at least a quarter century that Village property taxpayers will see a 0 percent rate increase," said village Mayor Victoria Gearity. "It is a credit to the Village’s ongoing commitment to smart investment in our infrastructure, and efficient use of taxpayer dollars, that the Board has been able to stay more than $100,000 under the tax cap two years in a row."

Gearity highlighted two areas:

• Employee benefit costs overall increased by 8.36 percent, or $859,326. The largest contributor to the employee benefit increase was health insurance, which skyrocketed by 13.9 percent. (or $708,023).
• The electric bill will drop by 22.38 percent, as the village expects to save $107,800 because of installing LED streetlights.

"Village government is about serving the public. And that work is done by our staff. So it’s not surprising that 76 percent of the General Fund budget is dedicated to salaries and benefits," she said. We look forward to another year of outstanding work by our dedicated staff."

See the budget on the village's website.