Patchogue adopts $13.6M budget that increases taxes by 3.9%

The Patchogue Village board of trustees adopted a $13.6 million budget that increases property taxes by 3.9 percent.

The budget for the 2018-19 fiscal year will add an additional $69.60 annually in property taxes or $5.80 each month for the average homeowner, officials said.

“I’m very comfortable with this budget,” Mayor Paul Pontieri said Monday night when the board adopted the budget. “We did a lot of work on this and started with a 14 percent increase.”

Health insurance costs increased to $1.72 million from $1.6 million, according to the new budget. Retirement expenses go up 7 percent from $617,000 to $659,000. Building department salaries increases 17 percent from $388,000 to 453,000, the budget shows.

Village officials called the budget responsible.

“It’s reasonable. We’re talking about a cup of coffee in a week’s difference for the taxpayer,” trustee Joseph Keyes said.

“I think it was a giant feat to get it down that low,” trustee Salvatore Felice said of the tax increase for homeowners.

Patchogue in the new fiscal year budgeted $125,000 for property tax refunds. Last year, the village budgeted $100,00 but overspent on that amount by $58,000.

The spending plan will use $110,000 for storm water filters as part of a matching grant with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Maintenance repair expenses at the village dock and marina decreases from $84,000 to $2,000in the new budget.

Patchogue has a $3.8 million surplus, $600,000 of which will be used to help balance the budget, officials said.