The Village of Asharoken presented its tentative 2013-2014 budget online last week. A public hearing on the budget will be held on Tuesday at the Northport American Legion Hall at 7:30 p.m.
The tentative budget has a 3.66% tax increase that translates into a $120 increase for an average home in the village. Mandates account for some of the increases, such as police and state employee retirement pensions, health insurance, workers’ compensation, fire & EMS protection, and claims and judgments of $19,000.
The budget includes contractual increases for police and salary increases for other employees. Additionally, money earmarked for village hall, when offset by a withdrawal from the village tax stabilization fund, adds $3,000 to the budget. Helping reduce the budget is a $30,000 (50 percent) reduction in legal fees and a reduction in weekday marine police patrol expenditures.
"Potentially, the village could have a substantial reduction in contributions to our police & state employee retirement if Governor Cuomo’s budget is passed as currently proposed," wrote Mayor Greg Letica. "The village is also doing all it can to obtain maximum funding from FEMA for storm costs and rebuilding village hall."
The complete detailed budget is available at Asharoken.com and copies are available at village hall.
