The Village of East Williston’s draft budget is moving forward following a workshop with residents Monday night.
The six people who came to the meeting at Village Hall had questions about some specific numbers, village borrowing and fire department funding, Mayor David Tanner said, but there was no opposition to the proposed increases to property taxes or the general fund.
“It was a very positive meeting, all in all,” Tanner said Tuesday.
The Village Board decided Monday to move forward with a tentative budget essentially identical to the preliminary budget it recently unveiled, with some adjustments to village employee salaries, Tanner said.
As reported last week, the $2,547,704 budget proposes growing the general fund by about $106,000, increasing the tax levy 1.32 percent and raising the property tax rate 0.86 percent.
Various capital projects are driving the budget growth, Tanner said last week.
The village began hosting workshop meetings like Monday’s after residents asked to be more involved with the budget process before the usual April budget hearing, when trustees generally vote on it, Tanner said.
“I think the residents appreciated the opportunity to meet with our board, as our board appreciated the opportunity to have a conversation about the budget,” he said.
The Village Board has also met to discuss the budget in what Tanner called “a very collaborative effort.”
The village will now print and distribute the tentative budget to residents and will hold a public budget hearing April 4, followed by a likely vote that evening, Tanner said.
