The Orangetown Council heard from members of the community during Tuesday's public hearing on the 2014 town budget, but the board members themselves spoke very little of what changes might come between the preliminary budget and the final adoption next week.
The council voted unanimously to continue the budget hearing to Tuesday, Nov. 19, when the council will vote to adopt a final budget.
The preliminary budget currently on the table is exactly the same as the tentative budget Orangetown Supervisor Andy Stewart proposed Sept. 24, one which puts the town slightly under the state mandated tax levy cap. On Oct. 22, the town council voted against overriding the cap for 2014, so the town must stay below the threshold.
Stewart said the rest of the council met Tuesday afternoon with the finance department to present their suggestions for amendments to the proposed budget, though he had not had a chance to closely review the changes before Tuesday night's meeting.
"Now we have more suggestions for amendments in addition to my own," Stewart said. "It's good stuff. There will be discussion. Not all of them are easy. Most of them are housekeeping. We have a little time to review them to make sure we don't make any changes that don't work."
Stewart predicted that proposed amendments would reduce the proposed budget by "$600,000 or $700,000." Councilman Tom Diviny once again said he expects the town board to reduce the amount of reserves spent for 2014 from the proposed $3.5 million.
One potential addition to the budget is the filling of a vacant assistant building inspector. There could be reductions in funding for libraries and the town will also remove the $250,000 set aside to pay for community college chargebacks. For more on the budget discussion heading into Tuesday's meeting, read this report on Patch.
The town must also come to an agreement with the Blauvelt Fire Protection District for its budget. That matter was also the subject of a public hearing Tuesday and that was also extended to next week. The one-year budget listed listed in the agenda for Tuesday's meeting was $839,650 plus workman's compensation insurance costs. The town is limited in the changes it can make because there is no longer time to post another public hearing. It would have to stick to a one-year deal and could only reduce the amount of the budget, not increase it.
Pearl River resident Michael Mandel said that cost of workman's compensation should be reflected in the dollar amount for the Blauvelt Fire District's budget. He also called for the cost of the department's annual dinner to be removed from the cost to taxpayers.
Mandel also questioned a series of line items on the town budget. Stewart asked for a written list and promised responses to each item.
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