Politics & Government

Proposed 2012 Orangetown Budget Could Include 6.8% Tax Increase

Despite cuts in many town departments, the proposed 2012 budget could increase homeowners taxes by 6.8% or more, in large part due to the settlement with Pfizer.

The Town of Orangetown released the Supervisor's Tentative 2012 budget, showing a 2.3 percent tax increase for homeowners.

That budget does not include the refund to Pfizer, which is costing the town $2.4 million.

That fact prompted Councilman Tom Diviny to ask Orangetown Director of Finance Charlie Richardson what the actual total increase will be for homeowners, including the expense for Pfizer, at Tuesday's town board workshop.

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"(Take) 2.3% for the town and 4.5% for Pfizer and we have 6.8% and then whatever county does to solve its financial problems," Richardson said.

Cuts on the county level could also have a negative impact on the Town of Orangetown's 2012 budget. Richardson said that $350,000 in funds listed under miscellaneous revenue is projected reimbursements from Rockland County for its use of Orangetown Police Officers in the Rockland County Drug Task Force and Rockland County Intelligence Center. County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef has proposed eliminating such reimbursements to save the county $2.5 million.

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District Attorney Thomas Zugibe and local police departments in Rockland County, including Orangetown, strongly oppose the cut, which could eliminate their ability to supply officers county-wide law enforcement efforts.

"The police chief’s association does not want either unit dismantled," Orangetown Police Chief Kevin Nulty said. "(Members of the association) met with the county exec today. The indication given is he will not include it in the budget for next year. The legislators would have to put it back in."

Richardson said that it was extremely unlikely that the town would be able to get under the state's new two percent tax cap, though that can be overriden with 60 percent of the vote. The alternative would be finding well over $2 million more in cuts from the $65.3 million budget.

"In terms of the tax cap, you have to remember the Pfizer refund of  roughly $2.4 million counts toward the tax cap," Richardson said. "One way or another, the board is going to have to vote to exceed the tax cap."

This proposal includes no increases in salary for town elected officials (supervisor, council members, judges, town clerk, highway superintendent and receiver of taxes). The individual departments in the town would all either cut spending or keep it at 2011 levels.

"There is not much good news here, except the departments did what you asked them to do," Councilman Denis Troy said. 

PDF file Copies of the Town of Orangetown Supervisor's Tentative 2012 Budget Expenses and Revenues are attached to this article. They can also be downloaded from the Orangetown Town website.


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