Politics & Government

Malverne Village Board Adopts Budget

Final budget raises village taxes 2.63 percent.

The Malverne village board voted unanimously Monday night to adopt the 2012-2013 budget that had been

The budget, which carries a tax levy increase of 2.63 percent, exceeds the tax cap imposed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's new law, but the village board earlier this month giving them the power to override it.

"I want to stress that this board has worked dilligently to keep the increase as low as possible while continuing to provide our residents with the fine serives they have come to know, including an allocation for the summer recreation program," Mayor Patricia Norris McDonald said.

Find out what's happening in Malverne-Lynbrookwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The total expenses in the budget are $15,191,486, of which $12,233,290 will be raised through taxes and $2,958,196 from other revenue sources.

Since the board projects that they will end this fiscal year with a surplus, which McDonald attributed to "sound fiscal management," they will utilize $845,000 from the village's fund balance, also known as its reserves, to offset the coming year's expenses and the tax increase to residents.

Find out what's happening in Malverne-Lynbrookwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The 2.63 percent tax levy increase translates to a tax rate of $63.92 per $100 of assessed valuation. To determine your increase, take your assessed value (ie. $6,000) and divide it by 100 and then multiple it by 63.92.

McDonald called the increase "moderate," and described the overall budget as "workable, efficient and effective." She thanked her fellow village officials including Budget Director and Deputy Mayor Joseph Hennessy, and the various departments for the work they put in to arrive at the final budget.

"All departments have given their total cooperation with our request to cut spending... [and] will continue to actively pursue grant opporunties to offset future expenditures," she added.

All the board members voted in favor of the budget, with Trustee Jack O'Brien abstaining from items pertaining to the , of which he is an active member, and Hennessy doing the same for the for similar reasons.

Hennessy also took a few moments to respond to comments made on that was published on Patch regarding the budget. He assured concerned residents that "every bill that gets paid is reviewed by atleast two trustees and the mayor at all times in addition to the village clerk," adding, "We have very tight controls on how we are spending your money."

He used the village's fire department as a "prime example," saying that it performs with one of the lowest budgets in Nassau County, $550,000 compared to some fire departments who get $7 million annually. He also took this time to applaud the efforts of its members who battled inside a home on Scarcliffe Drive Sunday night.

Hennessy then clarified that some of the items listed in the expenditures portion of the budget pay for themselves. For instance, "our tennis program is a fee-based program," he said, "We have $15,000 on the expense side and $15,000 on the income side." This also applies to stenographer services and legal notices. With some exceptions, most of these expenses are paid for by the applicants seeking approval from the village's Planning Board for a project. 

"Nobody takes any pleasure in raising taxes, but to get what you need, we have to," he said. He suggested those interested in getting a better understanding of how the village spends taxpayers' money, to pick up a copy of the adopted budget from 

Adding to that point, Trustee Michael Bailey pointed out that not a single resident attended last week's budget hearing.

"Possibly some people have questions but don't want to appear on television," he said, advising residents to contact Village Hall if this is the case. "We'd be glad to explain the complexity of a $15 million budget to you so it answers any questions you might have."

Trustee Patricia Canzoneri-Callahan welcomed not only questions, but also suggestions from the residents going forward.

"There are people who are complaining and are critical and we are five people open to suggestons," she said. "There are so many business people and so much information that could be yielded from residents who might have a different take. Certainly, we are all open to hearing those suggestions, because the budget is a process ... I encourage people that if they have suggestions, they should come forward."

The adopted budget will take effect June 1,2012 through May 31, 2013. 

You can watch the full video of the April 16 budget adoption hearing here courtesy of Malverne T.V. 

Use the comments space below to share your thoughts on the finalized buget.


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