Orangetown Supervisor Andy Stewart did not get into specifics Monday when asked about his Supervisor's tentative budget for 2014, which is due Tuesday.
He did make it clear that while he asked for the town's department heads to provide proposals with their needs, they will not find all the presents they had hoped for under the tree.
"It's not Christmas around here," Stewart said. "We're going to come in with a very efficient budget that I'm sure will be among the lowest in the county. It will be a budget that will work for the town and for preserving services and avoiding layoffs."
Stewart will present his 2014 tentative budget during the town council meeting 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in town hall. Click here for the full meeting agenda. It will be the first time the other members of the town council see his proposal. Though Stewart said he does not consider the tentative budget a finished product with the final budget deadline in November, the tentative budget would go into effect if somehow the council was not able to approve another one.
"There is still work to be done," Stewart said. "The work my staff and I have done has set the table for the town board and the public to see what the issues are. It's an austerity budget that preserves most of the important elements.
"The town board members will see it for the first time. They will study it and we will work together to come up with the final product."
Stewart said that the town faces the challenges of many cost increases that are unavoidable such as new labor contracts with the PBA and CSEA, rising pension and healthcare costs and the tax settlement with Pfizer.
"The Pfizer settlement is almost $2 million," Stewart said. "It's a huge, huge impact."
He said that issues like capital expenses present difficult choices.
"What is most important?" Stewart said. "What needs to be funded and what can wait?"
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