Despite proposing slight increases to the village’s spending and total tax levy in the next fiscal year, East Hills village trustees last Monday approved a 2015-16 budget that for the fifth straight year will carry no property tax increase.
The budget consists of $12,173,723 in expenditures, a $434,181 increase from those approved in 2014-15, while the village will have a $7,926,091 tax levy, worth $143,392 from last year.
To balance the budget, the board forecasts $2,316,141 in non-tax revenue and plans to use $1,931,431 from surpluses.
In his annual budget message to village residents, East Hills Mayor Michael Koblenz said the budget “carries out our pledge to maximize services while maintaining costs…continuing our course of economic prudence.”
The village’s largest expenditures include $2,786,233 in government support costs and $2,087,800 in public safety, primarily for the maintenance of the East Hills Village Park. East Hills is also utilizing $1,838,600 in transportation costs and $1,634,661 in employee benefits.
In non-tax revenue, the village is anticipating $719,850 in license and permit fees and $355,000 in fines and forfeiture payments.
Village taxes, Koblenz said in his message, tend to make up about 16-17 percent of a resident’s overall annual taxes.
“Containing taxes is a must,” he wrote. “This is a challenge that has been met; even in a climate of raising health care costs, unfunded mandates like cleaning Glen Cove Road, higher costs and increased labor costs. It is yet another record that our board of trustees has accomplished.”
