Politics & Government

Lynbrook Village Board Passes 2011-12 Budget

Spending plan totals $33.4 million; village taxes to rise 6.8 percent.

In a challenging year that saw Lynbrook's assessed valuation decrease and mandated costs increase, the village board unanimously passed a $33.4 million budget on Monday.

The 2011-12 spending plan reflects a 3.4 percent increase in year-to-year expenditure and 6.8 percent increase in village taxes.

"We had a board of five people looking at a tremendous, tremendous hit this year," Lynbrook Mayor Bill Hendrick said of increasing costs and reduced valuation. "We think it's best to do more with less, but to keep our ratings, to work forward with doing more with less, and watching every bit of expenditure. We have to keep [costs] down next year and keep our rating well, and keep our quality of life the way we want it."

The biggest impact on the budget, Hendrick said, were the following: a $120,000 increase in worker compensation insurance; a $632,000 decrease in the village's assessed valuation; a $547,000 increase in the village's contribution to the New York State pension system; a loss of $575,000 in mortgage tax revenue; and a $290,000 increase in health insurance costs.

The village must also pay upwards of $2 million for a property assessment grievance filed by Long Island American Water.

"We really tried to look for ways to keep [costs] down and I really think we did the best that could be done," said Lynbrook Deputy Mayor Alan Beach. "I think it's very reasonable considering all we are up against with mandates and other tax certioraris that we have."

According to Village Administrator John Giordano, the village put off purchasing various equipment in an effort to save money. The following items were deferred: a police car and a village pickup truck with high mileage, a new standby generator for the Lynbrook Recreation Department, and new lights over the baseball fields at Greis Park. The board also left vacant three employee positions and reduced the overtime of the police and sanitation departments.

Other savings were achieved through a wage freeze on clerical and highway department staff, and the village continues to enter intermunicipal and joint purchasing agreements to save money. Village trustees have frozen their salaries for the last couple of years, and will continue to do so next year.

Giordano added that Lynbrook remains in good financial standing. The village is less than halfway to its limit on what percentage its tax levy can be legally raised to. It is also only at 15 percent of its maximum borrowing power, contributing to a solid credit rating (AA) issued by Moody's.

The village's credit rating has been largely responsible for Lynbrook receiving a number of state grants for its ongoing streetscaping projects in the downtown area, allowing many of them to be done at little or no cost to village taxpayers.

Village Trustee Hilary Becker said he and the rest of the board realize that these are difficult economic times. While the board is reluctantly raising taxes, he said, it is important to note that 85 percent of the village budget is fixed — by law, the village must provide specific services and pay certain bills.

"We recognize that a lot of people are struggling," Becker said. "We recognize that any kind of tax increase for our residents can be difficult at this time."

A specific breakdown of tax increases per household was not available as of the posting of this article. Lynbrook's fiscal year begins June 1.


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