Tentative Village Tax Rate Increase Hits Double Digits

At first glance, Garden City's proposed 2013-14 budget totals $61,689,355, a 12.91 percent increase over last year's approved spending plan.

The current tax rate increase is estimated at 22.91 percent, an increase village auditor Jim Olivo said is "obviously untenable."

The proposed double-digit rate increase includes a $576,213 loss in assessment, which will only increase, Olivo said, as several tax certiorari settlements are soon approved.

The proposed $7,052,170 budget-to-budget increase has been driven by several factors: capital projects, which are actually double when compared to last year; mandated employee retirement costs (increased 18.86 percent increase for police and fire department employees and 14.58 percent increase for other employees); increased contributions to the village's insurance reserves; and provisions for unsettled labor contracts.

"The single greatest driver in this initial budget is the requested increase in capital projects, from last year's $1,970,873 to a request of $3,924,700," Olivo writes in a Feb. 1 budget memo to village administrator Robert Schoelle. "By reducing this area to last budget's level, the budget increase drops to 9.25 percent."

Tough decisions lie ahead for village trustees and department heads alike. A full review of the proposed 2013-14 operating and capital budgets, as well as draft recommendations from the 2013-14 Citizens Budget Review Advisory Committee (CBRAC), are available for review on the village's website under Current Village Issues.

A final budget meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 20, at 7:30 p.m. in the village hall boardroom (rescheduled from Thursday, March 14). A public hearing on the final budget is scheduled for April 1.