The Orangetown Council can override the state mandated tax cap with its annual budget. Two years ago, in the first year of the cap, the council voted against a local law that would allow the 2012 budget to exceed the cap, leaving the board rushing to make the necessary cuts in under two weeks.
Last year with that in mind, the council decided to hold a vote regarding overriding the tax cap earlier in the process. The law passed last October, but the council ended up with a budget under the tax cap again for 2013. For more on that process, read this report on Patch.
The town council will hold a public hearing 8 p.m. Tuesday regarding the council giving itself the ability to override the tax cap in the 2014 town budget. The hearing is part of the regular town board meeting, which begins at 7:30 p.m. in town hall. The council will also submit a preliminary budget Tuesday.
"We need the override legislation in our back pocket because we don't want to have to tangle with the state," Orangetown Supervisor Andy Stewart said. "It's our budget, not their budget. We need the latitude. We're under now, but if you mess with it too much or the county comes in with some funny numbers, you might be over."
Stewart's tentative budget, submitted in September, calls for a 2.6 percent tax levy increase for residents, but it would come in under the state cap as it is calculated. The state tax levy cap for 2014 is 1.66 percent, but it includes a number of exemptions. In the 2013 town budget, the average increase for residents was 4.66 percent, but with the exemptions figured in, Orangetown's tax increase by state calculations was 1.66 percent.
"It's a low budget," Stewart said. "That's the main thing. That's the real work. It's really only a political thing if it is under the cap. Anybody who doesn't vote for the override, to have that option, is potentially putting the town in a risky situation. It's being pragmatic."
This is the first time since the state passed the tax levy cap that the supervisor's tentative budget for Orangetown is below the cap. Former Supervisor Paul Whalen's 2012 tentative budget called for a 7.5 percent increase and Stewart's 2013 tentative budget called for a 9.2 percent jump.
If the town council does not adopt a 2014 budget by the state deadline in November, the supervisor's tentative budget would automatically be enforced.
Stewart said as of Monday, he expected the preliminary budget submitted Tuesday to be similar to the tentative proposal on the table. He said he had noticed some things he might want to change, but has not heard any suggested changes from the rest of the council.
"Unless my colleagues come in with some changes, it will just mirror the supervisor's budget," Stewart said.
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