Rockville Centre increasing parking, water fees

As part of the budget that the board of trustees approved on Monday, the Village of Rockville Centre will be increasing water rates and parking permit fees — and more than tripling the mayor’s salary.

The finalized spending plan totals $43.5 million, an increase of $375,769 — or about 0.8 percent — over the current budget. For the average Rockville Centre home, valued at $535,000, taxes will increase by $87. The new fiscal year starts June 1.

Fees for parking permits are set to increase by 5 percent (see chart). “It’s the first increase in four years across the board for parking permit fees,” Schussheim said. “We feel that after a few years of freezing any parking permit fee increases, a 5 percent increase is fair.”

Building Department fees will also go up by 5 percent, as will application fees in the zoning, planning and exterior design departments.

As his position takes on more day-to-day responsibilities, Mayor Francis X. Murray will receive a raise, from $23,000 a year to $75,000.

“The mayor will be working in conjunction with [new Village Administrator Kathleen Murray],” Schussheim said. “The mayor will be more heavily involved. He’ll be working full-time, basically.” The last time the mayor’s salary rose was in 2006, when it increased from $20,000 a year to its current rate.

The mayor’s higher salary will be funded in part by money that used to go to the village administrator: Kathleen Murray, who is not related to the mayor, will make about $40,000 less than the final salary of her predecessor, Keith Spadaro.

By way of comparison, the mayor of Freeport, Robert Kennedy, makes $121,000 in what is a full-time position, although he does not have a village administrator. Lynbrook Mayor William J. Hendrick, who works part-time, makes $29,000. The mayor of Garden City, Nicholas P. Episcopia, does not receive a salary, and an administrator runs the village. Malverne Mayor Patricia McDonald works part-time for a salary of $11,000, and does not have a village administrator.

The higher water rates will help fund the village’s debt service, which has increased in the past few years because of water infrastructure upgrades, including recently bonded projects like the new iron-filtration plant on Maple Avenue. “It’s been approximately seven years since we last raised rates,” Schussheim said. “And even with a relatively significant percentage increase, the average water consumer is still going to be paying a reasonable amount for their water.”

The amount of the increase, he said, had not yet been finalized. A hearing is scheduled for the board of trustees meeting on May 9.

One of the largest single increases in the spending plan is police salaries, which will rise by $497,715 due to contractual agreements, to almost $9.3 million.

Because of the small budget increase, the village was able to stay in compliance with both the tax cap and tax freeze. Under state law, municipalities must keep their tax levy increases to approximately 2 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. The tax freeze is a program in which homeowners receive reimbursements if they live in a municipality that stays within the confines of the tax cap.

For Rockville Centre, the tax levy will increase by just under $565,000 — about $10,000 less than the tax cap, Schussheim said.

The final budget is available on the village’s website.