Village of Lindenhurst to hold public hearing on proposed $15.78 million budget
The Village of Lindenhurst will hold a hearing on its proposed budget at the village hall on Tuesday night. Credit: Steve Pfost
The Village of Lindenhurst is holding a public hearing Tuesday night on a proposed budget that would raise the tax rate by 1.8%.
The proposed $15.78 million budget for 2022-2023 would have a tax rate of $21.30 per $100 of assessed value, a 1.8% increase over the current budget’s rate of $20.92. The $236 sanitation fee would stay the same. A single-family home with an average assessed value of $4,000 would pay a total of $1,088 in village taxes, up just over $15 from the $1,072.80 that same homeowner paid this year. The increase stays under the state tax cap.
Uncertainty about inflation and fuel prices, coupled with sharp spikes in building supply prices made the proposed budget a challenge, Mayor Mike Lavorata said.
"We’re trying to estimate a modest increase based on the raw materials that have gone up," he said. "The fact that we kept it under the tax cap with that in mind is pretty stupendous in my book."
The largest departmental increases in the proposed budget are for fire and rescue, with a $161,965 increase to $2.23 million, followed by sanitation with an $87,395 hike to $885,260 and on-street parking, which would go up by $72,315 to $227,565.
Village treasurer Louise Schrader said the fire department’s increase can be attributed to a salary hike and longer hours for EMTs due to the pandemic. Some highway department employees were shifted to the sanitation department, leading to that increased budget line, she said. The village is also looking to add more code enforcement for events such as concerts and parades, necessitating an increase in the on-street parking budget, Schrader said. The village has increased its budget for special events from $22,250 to $40,950.
The shifting of employees out of the highway department, along with the retirement of three top-earning foremen, resulted in a $492,626 decrease in the budget line for that department, down to $1.27 million, Schrader said. Because federal American Rescue Plan pandemic funds were used for work on the Rainbow senior center, that line item was able to be reduced by $73,685 to $100,280, Schrader said.
With uncertainty still looming because of the pandemic, she said the contingency fund was raised by $75,000 to a total of $115,000.
"It was a little tricky this time," Schrader said of putting together the budget. "Last year was not a good picture because of COVID, so I’m doing a little more guesswork for the upcoming budget by looking at the last two years and assuming we’re going to get more and more back to normal. But maybe not as much because now we’re having a surge."
The hearing will take place at 7:30 p.m. at Village Hall, 430 S. Wellwood Ave.
Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.
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