Village of Island Park unveils its 2010-11 budget

The Village of Island Park recently unveiled its proposed 2010-11 budget — a 1.5 percent increase from the current fiscal year — which, if adopted, will raise villagers’ taxes by 6.5 percent.

That means for every $100 of a home's assessed value, residents will pay nearly $29 in taxes. The average assessed value of a home in Island Park is $4,000, according to Village Clerk Gomie Persaud, making the average tax bill $1,157.48 for the fiscal year.

The $3,492,967 budget, an increase of nearly $50,000 from the 2009-10 fiscal year, includes increases in some major areas like employee benefits, debt service and public safety. The village's contribution to the State Retirement System — a cost dictated to the village — increased by over 50 percent, now costing the village $99,000.

“That was a phenomenal change there,” Persaud said. “And all the state funding was cut – the revenue sharing, mortgage taxes, etc.” Those changes contribute to an overall decrease in revenues for the village.

Another large increase is in the village’s debt service, which is going up nearly $40,000, after a steep increase in the principal the village pays.

“We actually downsized from last year,” Persaud said. “The only big changes, and it’s not even really that big, is the hiring of one full-time employee and two part-time employees for the public works department.”

“We’re trying to contain the spending and trying not to burden the taxpayers a lot,” said Persaud. “And that means no major construction and no major spending.”

The village held a public hearing on the budget on April 13. The budget was voted on by the Board of Trustees on April 15. See next week's edition of The Herald for more on Island Park's budget.

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