East Rockaway Village Board Adopts Tentative Budget

For the second consecutive year, the East Rockaway Village Board will cut taxes without a reduction in services. The 2012-13 tentative budget was adopted Monday night after a public hearing during a meeting of the village trustees.

The budget, tentatively listed at $8,708,046, will carry a tax levy of $6,347,003. This is a 0.29 percent decrease from 2011-12. The tax rate per $100 is $24.04, a 0.50 percent reduction from last year.

Due to Mayor Francis T. Lenahan’s vacation, Deputy Mayor Bruno Romano led the meeting.    

“The entire village board remains committed to eliminating government waste and excess that was a hallmark of the previous administration,” read the release. 

The tentative budget features a number of individual line reductions. 

42 out of 46 budgetary categories were either greatly reduced or “zeroed out.” All non-union village employees experienced a pay-freeze and no contract or vendor fee increases were incurred by the village, according to the release. 

Departmental reductions included a 34 percent decrease in bond expenses, a 25 percent decrease in the cost of publishing legal notices, a 47 percent decrease in Emergency Management Operations contractual expenses, and a 59 percent decrease in expenditures for sanitation uniforms, according to the release. 

Reductions in the Public Library expenditures also contributed to the tax cut. 

Library savings included a 75 percent reduction in the “meeting and travel” budget line, a 33 percent reduction thanks to the library’s plan to periodically replace older equipment, and a 15 percent decrease in office supply spending, according to the release.

“Many of our residents have lost their jobs or had to take a reduction in salary,” Romano said of the cuts. “We’re all cognizant of that. We wanted to make sure that we were able to give back to our residents in difficult times.”

The board will hold a public hearing to adopt the budget on April 30 at 7 p.m. 

23 resolutions were passed prior to the public budget hearing. Highlights included the authorization of payment for two new garbage trucks, the ratification of four new members of the East Rockaway Fire Department, and the authorization of insurance proceeds from Hurricane Irene and playground equipment policies. 

The village recovered $1,097.90 in insurance paybacks from Hurricane Irene and $1,699 from the playground equipment, according to Trustee Richard J. Gogarty.

The board also approved five requests for the use of village property. These requests included the use of Memorial Park to hold a picnic for second graders from the Rhame Avenue and Centre Avenue elementary schools and a request from veteran organizations to hold the annual Memorial Day Parade on May 28 at 10 a.m.