Scotia proposing 7.2% tax rate increase

“We are put in a corner,” mayor says

Mayor Tom Gifford acknowledges village officials have taken heat for a proposed spending plan that carries a 7.2 percent increase in the tax rate.

But revenue streams are limited, and the pandemic has walloped the village’s finances.

“Unfortunately, if you like the services you get, we are put in a corner by simple math,” Gifford wrote in a letter to residents. “The village has no industrial tax base and the businesses are a small portion of the total tax base.”

The village will hold a public hearing on Wednesday.

Total appropriations clock in at $9,956,038.

The hike is chiefly driven by the village’s contribution to the state pension fund. This year, the village’s contribution increased by $224,000, constituting 4 percent of the proposed tax hike.

For taxpayers, the tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value is scheduled to increase $1.18, from $13.79 to $14.97.

Gifford said the taxes on his house will increase $11.37 per month.

“Amounts will vary by assessment, but mine is a pretty standard village house,” he said.

The village will use $150,000 from fund balance to soften the impact.

Paired with pandemic-related revenue losses, Gifford cited increased expenses as contributing factors to the village’s wobbly fiscal situation.

And while the village is poised to receive funds from the federal stimulus package, Gifford said “it is still just a concept and we cannot count on the amount, the timing or the strings attached.”

Gifford and the Village Board huddled with department heads in an attempt to find cost savings, and said officials are “convinced that a large majority of our residents are happy with the village services they receive.”

“I firmly believe that anything else that is cut from the budget will degrade services,” Gifford said.

Gifford, who didn’t return a phone call seeking comment on Monday, indicated he was aware officials would be getting an earful at the public hearing, which will be available to watch online.

“I hope you can come to our meeting and I hope you can be nice to your board members and mayor,” he wrote. “We really did work hard on this.”