Village Sets Two Upcoming Public Hearings

The Village of Lindenhurst Board of Trustees set two public hearings to hear from residents about the possibility of piercing the tax cap and the upcoming 2013-14 budget.

Tax Cap Hearing
The public hearing to address the tax cap - put in place by New York state in 2011 for 2012 - is set for December 18 at the Board's 2:30 p.m. meeting at Village Hall.

"It's to authorize the Board to address the tax cap," Village Administrator Shawn Cullinane told Lindenhurst Patch.

"Every year a new law has to be passed by the Board to allow it to pierce the cap, should it need to do so," Cullinane said.

The Village passed the very first law last year to allow it to pierce the cap, but it was able to keep within the cap's parameters despite a 2.7 percent increase in the tax rate and a 2.5 percent increase in the sanitation fee.

The Village is currently working out its budget for 2013-14, and will be plugging its numbers into the New York state formula that tells each municipality - and school district - whether or not it's within the two-percent tax cap.

And as residents saw last year the tax cap applies not to the tax rate, but to the entire tax levy, which, under the cap, cannot be more than two percent or the Consumer Price Index (CPI) - whichever is less. Plus the tax levy has to do with the total revenues the Village generates.

Budget Hearing
The hearing for the proposed 2013-14 annual Village budget - which would be in effect for the fiscal year of March 1, 2013 to February 28, 2014 - is set for January 15, 2013 at the Board's 7:30 p.m. meeting at Village Hall.

Cullinane said the Village is currently working on the new budget, but as for how exactly Hurricane Sandy will affect it he wasn't sure.

"We're being told most expenses - debris removal, overtime, etc. - will be reimbursed. But we don't know for sure," he said.

The Village has already started the FEMA application process, like it did last year after Hurricane Irene, but it's a slow process.

"The applications are on-going, and the situation is fluid. It depends on how fast they start reimbursing, and we might not have everything back by when the budget is supposed to be done," Cullinane explained.

He said FEMA would like to speed things along, and even noted Long Beach already got a check in hand for $24.5 million. However, it's still a process, and all the Village can do is submit its expenses for reimbursement.

"We're into the stream, and we've submitted the bills," he said.

And those bills include all of the debris removal and street cleanup done to date since the October 29 storm hit Lindenhurst hard - especially South of Montauk Highway.

The Village also engaged four private contractors to assist in the debris cleanup. That helped get the initial debris removed from the streets, and now the Village is heading in with street sweepers and to remove the construction debris residents are now putting out as those who are able to begin the rip-outs and long process of rebuilding of their water-logged homes South of Montauk.

In the meantime the Village will continue submitting its Sandy expenses - which will also include damage to the Lindenhurst Marina/Docks and Shore Road Park - and putting together its 2013-14 budget.

The proposed budget shall be available for public review in the Office of the Clerk-Treasurer at Village Hall beginning on Friday, December 28, according to the most recent Board agenda.

The same Board agenda noting the upcoming hearings noted the annual salary of the mayor is $13,500. It also noted the annual salary of each of the Board's four trusteesis $8,500, with an additional stipend of $500 for the deputy mayor.

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