LARCHMONT, N.Y. The Larchmont Board of Trustees unanimously adopted the 2012-2013 budget Monday night, which adheres to the 2 percent tax levy cap and will leave the village a $181,000 carryover balance to apply to next year's budget.
The $20,157,824 budget raises the tax levy, the total amount the village collects from the community through property taxes, $103,595, or 0.87 percent, from last year.
"We have met the state's obligation of having less than a 2 percent increase in our property tax levy and, as a matter of fact, we have done so well that we will have a carry-over that we can continue to use next year of $181,000," Mayor Anne McAndrews said.
While the tax levy is the total amount of money collected, the tax rate is the percentage each individual homeowner pays and is affected by assessed values, which dropped $370,259, or 0.94 percent, in the village this year.
The tax rate per $1,000 of assessed valuation increased by 1.8233 percent, or $309.47. Therefore, a homeowner with an average assessed valuation of $17,100, would pay $5,291.94 in property taxes, according to the budget adopted Monday.
While addressing the board, Paul Silverman, chair of the budget committee, said the budget was fair and economical, despite facing a 24 percent increase in pension contributions, a 33 percent increase in certiorari settlements and an 11 percent decrease in revenue from sales taxes the villages second largest source of revenue after property taxes.
"We are satisfied that a fair and reasonable effort has been made to maintain the standards of economy and efficiency that prior budgets have worked towards," Silverman said. "The result is a tax levy of less than 2 percent increase."
Silverman, a Larchmont resident, said the village was fortunate that it was able to find major savings through recent contract negotiations with the police and fire departments. The village now caps new employee salary increases at 1.5 percent for three years and five years respectively. Those new hires will also make increased health care contributions, both during their tenure and when they retire.
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