Valley Stream budget hearing set for April 11

It’s a budget with no fat, says Valley Stream Treasurer John Mastromarino. New Mayor Ed Fare calls it “lean.” The village’s proposed $33.8 million spending plan for 2011-12 freezes the tax levy and maintains all services.

Spending would increase less than 2 percent under the tentative plan, which is expected to be approved by the board next week after a public hearing. “Everybody is being forced to do more with less,” Fare said. “There is no fluff in this budget at all.”

Although the tax levy isn’t going up, the average homeowner would see his or her tax bill rise by $40 to $45 next year. That’s because there were some major successful tax assessment challenges in Valley Stream last year — about $1.4 million worth.

“We froze the levy. We’re not collecting a penny more,” Fare said. “The assessment roles do fluctuate. Some people may pay more. Some people may pay less. The village is not collecting any more money.”

To make up the difference for the increase in spending, the village will use $275,000 from its rainy day fund. Additionally, there is about $425,000 left over from various capital projects that will by used to pay off past borrowing.

Much of the budgetary increase is mandated health insurance and retirement costs. The village’s contribution to the state pension system will rise by about $550,000, a 40 percent increase. Health insurance is up about 7 percent. Deputy Treasurer Michael Fox said that the new employee contract that went into effect last year kept the increase down. New employees pay 15 percent of their health insurance premiums for the first seven years of their employment, a greater contribution than those who were hired under past contracts.

“We didn’t get hit that hard with an increase,” Fox said, “because of the contributions offsetting it.”

There was also an 8.5 percent increase in the library portion of the budget for the Henry Waldinger Memorial Library, Fox explained, because of increased fees for the automated library information system and for the facility’s membership in the Nassau Library system.

Five village positions are being eliminated in the budget, including one in the clerk’s office, a parking meter attendant, a street maintenance inspector, a clerk in the Building Department and a clerk in the accounting department. Additionally, the village will not replace its assessor, who retired last year. Instead, Fox will now head the assessment department in addition to his other duties. This will save the village at least $30,000, he estimated.

The biggest part of the village budget is salaries and benefits, Mastromarino noted, though the proposal includes a 2 percent decrease in Valley Stream’s full-time work force.

“We did that without cutting services and without laying people off,” Fare said, noting that 16 people retired through an incentive program last year.

Elected officials’ salaries will remain the same. The mayor will be paid $28,000, and each of the four trustees, $13,500, plus an extra $1,000 for the deputy mayor.

Capital projects

The village will borrow about $2.8 million next year for a variety of capital projects. Most of the money, about $2 million, will be used to fix roads. Fox said that the money should allow the village to repave about two miles of streets. It is unlikely that the funds will be used to fix municipal parking lots. “There’s enough roads out there that need to be addressed first,” he said.

About $250,000 will be designated for the replacement of rooftop heating and air conditioning units at the Waldinger library. The units have already been repaired four times this year, Fox said, and the library was without heat for a couple of days at one point this winter.

There is $100,000 budgeted for escape lines and harnesses for firefighters, a new safety mandate, according to Fox. The village also plans to replace two garbage trucks and two open body trucks — used for tree removal and white metal pickup — at a cost of about $350,000.

The village will borrow the same amount it will pay off next year. Fox said that the practice of not adding new debt has helped the village maintain its AA bond rating.

New programs and fees

Some new recreational programs will be added this summer. There will be skills camps added in wrestling, basketball and volleyball — a response to the Central High School District’s announcement that it would be eliminating its summer recreation program.

Fox said that these programs will not cost taxpayers any additional money because they will be funded by participation fees.

The cost for the summer camp program at Barrett Park will go up by $20. For a child living in the village, the cost for six weeks of camp will now be $200. All other recreation and parking permit fees will remain the same.

The public hearing for the proposed budget is scheduled for Monday at 7:30 p.m. at Village Hall. The new fiscal year begins June 1.