Orangetown Facing Tougher Budget Battles

The Orangetown Town Board had a proposed budget in place that would include a 7.5% tax increase right up to the point that the council voted Nov. 9 not to override the state's 2% tax cap.

Members of the board intended to make more cuts before the Nov. 20 deadline and had some ideas in mind, but the decisions had to be made quickly, something that was accomplished when the council adopted its 2012 budget Tuesday.

At least one member of the council does not want the process to go that way again.

"What I learned on this one with the cap is we have to start doing the budget process earlier," Councilman Tom Diviny said. "We have to get preliminary budgets (from the department heads) way before the state mandates. We have to have a five-year budget plan to deal with this."

Councilman Denis Troy argued from the night the cap override law was defeated that the process should have moved along more quickly. He also raised concerns about staying under the cap in the future.

One issue is the town's reserves. Part of the amendment that got the 2012 budget under the cap was taking an additional $1.5 million from the fund balance, bringing the total to $2.5 million.

"We still have some challenges next year," Troy said. "The fund balance is lower. We have to bring in more revenues."

"I had a number we needed to get to and worked to get it there," said Diviny, who proposed the amendment that the board approved to get the budget adopted Tuesday. "The fund balance is still at 17 percent, which is still very good. We can't use the same amount going forward. There will have to be harder cuts."

Councilman Michael Maturo suggested that it is difficult to predict where the town will be financially a year from now. Even the enforcement of the state's 2% tax cap, which was adopted earlier this year, could be different. He pointed out that it is still possible in the long run that the state might not count tax settlements against the cap.

"I do know where we are now is under the cap," Maturo said. "This is the best budget we can deliver right now."

A very different board will tackle the next budget. Maturo, Councilwoman Nancy Low-Hogan and Supervisor Paul Whalen are all leaving office at the end of December. Andy Stewart will take over as supervisor, with Tom Morr and Paul Valentine joining the council.

"Obviously, the budget, handling future tax certioraris and trying to incorporate them into a budget that is not so difficult for taxpayers to absorb," Morr said when asked about priorities on election night.