East Rockaway and Lynbrook adopt 2010-11 village budgets

The East Rockaway Village Board unanimously adopted its 2010-11 village budget of $8.9 million on April 19. The spending plan contains a 1.6 percent increase over the current budget and a 5.43 percent tax levy increase. The average homeowner will pay an extra $110 in taxes.

"It certainly isn't where I'd want it to be," Mayor Ed Sieban said of the tax levy increase. "I want it to be at zero percent, but in the environment we're in, that's just not realistic. The constant increases of uncontrollable costs are killing us."

According to Village Administrator John Mirando, mandated increases in pension costs, health benefits and workers' compensation insurance were the reasons for the jump in the tax levy, which was 3.5 percent this year. Pension costs increased by 64 percent, Mirando explained, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority payroll tax also cost the village $20,000. Given those costs, as well as an $80,000 drop in mortgage tax revenue -- down 40 percent from this year — and a 47 percent decrease in building permit fees, the village had to find new ways to increase revenue.

The village managed to save money, Mirand noted, by sharing some services with the school district and through its new garbage contract with Omni Recycling of Babylon, which saved it $100,000.

"We entered into an agreement with the school where they use our fueling station, which saves them money, and they pay for part of the maintenance to our station,” Mirando said.

He added that to cut fuel costs, the village converted its fleet from diesel fuel to compressed natural gas, and the Department of Public Works will soon be fitted with solar panels, which he said will offset energy costs. Mirando noted that the project was funded with state grants.

The are no staff cuts or program reductions in the tentative budget, Mirando said.

Lynbrook

The Lynbrook Village Board unanimously adopted its 2010-11 village budget of $32.1 million on April 19. The spending plan contains a 2.1 percent increase over this year's budget and a tax levy increase of 3.3 percent.

The board voted to use $2.1 million of the village surplus to balance the budget, which is 24 percent less than what was used this year. The village surplus now stands at $3.15 million.