Greenburgh Proposes Virtually Flat Town Spending Budget

Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner has released his proposed 2016 budget, which calls for virtually flat spending and falls within the state tax cap limit, according to his announcement.

“In summary, Greenburgh is financially sound,” Feiner wrote in the statement. “However, we need to continue on the same fiscal path so we may remain strong and confident in the face of an unpredictable future.”

The full proposal is scheduled to be posted to the town’s website in the coming days, and then the Town Board will vote to approve it by Dec. 20. Until then, officials will meeting with department heads and residents to discuss the proposal’s details.

Below is Feiner’s budget message:

I am pleased to present the Town Board with my proposed 2016 budget. Once again, we have kept the budget within the limits of the New York State tax cap. In addition, the increases are the lowest in years: less than one-half of one percent in the A budget and barely over one percent in the B budget (see Tax Rate Summary table, below).

FISCAL STRENGTH - Our financial success is the result of our ongoing pursuit of new smart-government cost-saving initiatives and the relentless efforts of the Town Board, our department heads, and members of the community. Combining these efforts with prudent limitations on new expenses will prepare us for the inevitable challenges of the economic cycle. We owe it to our community to work together to keep our government expenses under control and limit the use of fund balance to ensure financial flexibility and the long-term prosperity of our Town. The Town used $1.1 million of fund balance, in the Town Entire Fund and Town Outside Village Fund, to balance the budget in 2016. The Town Entire and Town Outside Village Fund Balances are projected to be $13.6 million and $20.9 million, respectively at December 31, 2016.

The Aaa bond rating we have received from Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, the highest bond rating a municipality can earn, has helped us with financing - keeping costs down on essential infrastructure needs and other capital projects.

RESIDENT BONUS CHECKS - Our residents are or will be the beneficiaries of special New York State financial incentives due to our cost reduction efforts and the Town’s ongoing adherence to the State tax cap. New York State is rewarding residents with bonus checks for those who live in communities that comply with the tax cap and have cut expenses. Our taxpayers started receiving them last month. The opposite is true in many other communities and school districts around the state that have already announced they will override the tax cap. Greenburgh has kept tax hikes under the State cap every year since the cap was enacted into law.

TAX RATE SUMMARY*

“A” Budget

(Town Entire)

2016: $15.9652; 2015: $15.8876; Difference: .0776; Percentage change: .49%

“B” Budget

(Town O/S Villages)

2016: $201.0113; 2015: $198.9643; Difference: 2.047; Percentage change: 1.03%

BUDGET SPENDING SUMMARY

“A” Budget

(Town Entire)

2016: 17,208,808; 2015: 17,873,692; Difference: (664,884); Percentage change: -3.72%

“B” Budget

(Town O/S Villages)

2016: 74,054,274; 2015: 72,190,361; Difference: 1,863,913; Percentage change: 2.58%

The $664,884 reduction in the Town Entire’s 2016 appropriations is essentially due to the $750,000 reduction in the appropriation for the allowance for uncollectible taxes.

In summary, Greenburgh is financially sound. However, we need to continue on the same fiscal path so we may remain strong and confident in the face of an unpredictable future.

*The tax rate is calculated by dividing the appropriations by the assessed valuations for a given year. The spending variance is simply a comparison of the current year’s appropriations against the prior year’s.