Lowville town budget raises tax levy 4.8 percent
LOWVILLE — The 2009 town budget will increase spending by 2.6 percent and the tax levy by 4.8 percent.
The budget, adopted last Thursday by the Town Council, raises overall spending by $45,694, from $1,752,197 to $1,797,891.
The tax levy, or amount to be raised by taxes, will be $868,793, up $39,534 from $829,259 this year. Of that increase, $35,600 will be spread among all town taxpayers, while $3,934 will be covered by those outside the village.
The full-value tax rate for village property owners will increase by 3.9 percent, from $2.99 to $3.11 per $1,000 of assessed value. Those outside the village will see a rate increase of only 0.7 percent, from $6.24 to $6.28 per $1,000 of assessed value.
The town's full taxable value has increased by 2 percent, from $199.2 million to $203.3 million. However, Town Supervisor Arleigh D. Rice noted that the $4.1 million increase is only a small part of Lewis County's $216 million growth in taxable value.
The budget uses $262,6250 — up from $241,500 in the 2008 budget — from town reserves to lower taxes.
Non-property tax revenues are projected to drop by $14,965, from $681,438 to $666,473.
That includes an expected drop in interest earnings from $40,380 to $26,575.
While the town last January received $163,510 through the payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with the Maple Ridge Wind Farm, the 2009 budget projects only $143,000 from the PILOT next year, Town Supervisor Arleigh D. Rice said.
That's because overall wind farm revenues are tied to combined full-value tax rates for the next few years, and other involved taxing jurisdictions are cutting their rates, Mr. Rice said.
The Lowville Academy and Central School District this fall dropped its full-value tax rate by about 10 percent, and Lewis County's 2009 budget may include a similar decrease.
The cost for snow removal is projected to increase from $162,400 to $202,800, while highway repair and improvement costs are expected to rise from $342,100 to $369,875.
Attorney expenses also were raised, from $30,000 to $40,000. The town has received an assessment challenge from WDC Lowville Associates on its former Section 801 housing on Hemlock Drive in Lowville, Mr. Rice said. Neighbors of a limestone mine off Route 26, operated by Michael J. Lyndaker, also are appealing state Supreme Court Judge Joseph D. McGuire's decision that upheld the town and village Planning Board's approval of the project.
The town will see a significant savings on the highway superintendent position, however.
Superintendent Richard T. Dening's annual salary has been dropped from $47,800 to $29,300, Mr. Rice said. That's because the longtime town employee has maximized his potential retirement benefits, and those benefits will make up for the reduced salary as long as he doesn't earn too much, he said.
The move also saves the town in employee benefit costs, Mr. Rice said.
Liability insurance costs have been cut from $35,000 to $30,000 due to a switch in carriers.
A $2,000 budget line for engineering costs also was eliminated in the 2009 budget, and publicity funds were reduced from $5,000 to $500. "It's pretty bare-bones," Mr. Rice said.
