Larchmont Preliminary Tax Rate Increase Now at 8.1%

Extra Board Meeting Monday, April 25 for Final Vote

by Judy Silberstein

(April 21, 2005) The Village of Larchmont Board is continuing to make progress in cutting back the budget, announced Mayor Ken Bialo at the April 18 meeting. What had begun earlier in the year as a tentative budget of $13.72 million with a 16.4% tax rate increase, had already come down to $13.35 million and 11.6% by early April, and was now at $13.23 million and 8.1%, he said. (See: Preliminary Larchmont Budget Hikes Tax Rate 11.6%; Board Still Whittling) An extra board meeting was set for Monday, April 25 to allow for an additional public hearing and a final vote before the April 30 deadline.

In the past two weeks, board members have been “creeping along” going through the budget “line by line,” according to the mayor. And there are “still some decisions on big things that are yet coming,” and “decisions on small things that are yet coming,” he added.

What’s changed? With two months having elapsed from the time of the first set of expense and revenue estimates, the board has a better sense of what to expect in the coming year. According to Larchmont Treasurer Denis Brucciani, who supplied additional information after the meeting, liability insurance costs will be $120K less than originally estimated. On the revenue side, there will be $120K more coming into the general fund as reimbursements from the water fund (for repairs paid for out of the general fund) that will replace funds that would otherwise have to come from new taxes. In addition, there will be approximately $70K more raised from increases in fees, such as parking and day camp.

And what about the surplus? The board has hard work ahead, including coming to consensus on how much of the surplus (leftover from last year) to use in lowering the tax bill for next year. Keeping a healthy reserve is important for covering unexpected expenses and for earning the good ratings needed to keep borrowing costs low. The board will know by the end of this week exactly how much surplus the Village will have to work with, as Mr. Brucianni completes his calculations.

In response to a question from Phil Johanson, a member of the Larchmont Budget Committee, Mayor Bialo noted that the preliminary budget includes a $513K contribution from the surplus. That is approximately twice as high as the amount applied to last year’s final budget, and there may not be consensus on the board to spend this much from the reserves. If the board were to follow last year’s course, the tax rate would bounce back up to 10%.

“I expect the number for the surplus will come down,” said Mayor Bialo, but he also expects the tax increase to come down. “Do I hope [the tax increase] will get lower? Yes,” he said. “Do I expect it will get much lower? No,” he added. He had been hoping for 6% or lower, but he no longer finds that possible, he said, due in large measure to rising costs for pensions, health care, salaries and unfunded mandates.

Village Engineer or Consultant? The board is also debating a number of other issues that impact the budget, including whether to continue using consultant engineers rather than filling the now vacant position of in-house engineer. Trustees Liz Feld and Marlene Kolbert are concerned about the lack of “day-to-day” engineering and managerial support, especially given Larchmont’s continuing problems with water and the relatively small number of professionals staffing Village Hall. "There is a noticeable void without an engineer on staff," said Trustee Feld.

The majority view, held by Mayor Bialo and Trustees Anne McAndrews and Mike Wiener, is that other municipalities (such as the Town of Mamaroneck) have successfully used consultants who can supply both general and specialized skill sets, when needed, at somewhat less cost than having a full-time engineer on staff. "Frankly, I don't miss a village engineer," he said.

Trustee Kolbert also continued to voice worries that there is so little citizen feedback, though Mayor Bialo assured her he was hearing from residents on the issue. There was only one resident at the meeting to speak on the budget, Pierre Boulat, who responded to previous comments from board members that residents were not calling for cuts in their services. “I, for one, am ready to call for a cut in services, if it means better tax rates,” he said.

Board members will need to work out their differences on these and other issues in time to pass a budget by the deadline of April 30.