Vol . 35 , No 12 3 WEDNESDAY , MARCH 22 , 2017 3 ONE DOLLAR

Page 38

By RACHEL COLEMAN

Maybrook residents are looking at up to an 11 percent village tax increase this year .

If adopted , the mayor ’ s proposed budget would raise the village tax rate to $ 14.02 for residents in the town of Montgomery . Residents with a home assessed at $ 150,000 would see an increase of $ 209 .

For those village residents with homes in Hamptonburgh , their tax rate would be increased by 9.3 percent to $ 9.95 and a home assessed at $ 150,000 would see an increase of $ 127.50 for the year .

The village board voted at their last meeting to pass a local law overriding the property tax cap , paving the way for the increase .

Mayor Dennis Leahy said he always tries to keep village taxes as low as possible , but he couldn ’ t avoid the increase this year without “ gutting ” the budget or draining the fund balance . As it is , the budget is utilizing $ 150,000 from its fund balance — the same amount the village used last year .

In prior years , Leahy used $ 300,000 from the village fund balance to alleviate the burden on residents , but he explained that can ’ t continue as the village needs to start rebuilding its fund balance .

The proposed budget includes no major projects , but it does contend with several cost increases .

According to Leahy , retirement costs have shot up $ 38,000 , health insurance

The budget also includes a lease for a new police vehicle ($ 15,000 ), a pay increase of 1.5 percent for village employees , and an investment in economic development of $ 20,000 .

If they had not been able to override the tax cap , the cuts would have been visible to residents , from the loss of village events to investments in parks and other areas .

“ There ’ s no way we could survive ,” said Leahy .

According to Leahy , over the last nine budgets , taxes for a village resident with a home assessed at $ 150,000 has only increased $ 612 — which translates

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Page 12 www . WallkillValleyTimes . net

The Walden Village Board saw a significant shakeup on Tuesday evening , as two new Trustees gained spots on the seven-member panel as voters submitted their ballots at the Walden Firehouse . Challengers Lynn Thompson ( 259 votes ) and Faith Moore ( 246 votes ) both earned their first twoyear terms on the board , while Trustee Brian Sebring ( 249 votes ) was re-elected to serve his second stint on the panel . The three victorious candidates joined forces in the run-up to the election , putting up joint election signs around the village .

Moore will give up her current spot on the Walden Zoning Board of Appeals when she joins the Village Board next month . Trustee Edmond Leonard ( 164 votes ) came up short in his bid for a sixth straight term on the board , and Edward Bates ( 121 votes ) was unable to secure a seat on the council after an unsuccessful run last spring as well .

Walden Mayor Susan Rumbold and Village Justice Raynard Ozman were both running unopposed in the March 21 election , and Rumbold appeared on 317 village ballots to clinch another two-year term , while Ozman tallied 343 votes to earn an additional four-year stint on the bench .

- Ted Remsnyder

J . P . Aponte

Just day after a winter storm dumped nearly two feet of snow on the region , the Village of Montgomery ’ s Saint Patrick ’ s Parade went on as scheduled . More photos on pages 20 and 21 .

Incumbents keep Montgomery seats

No change in the lineup of village board trustees resulted from the election Tuesday . Walter Lindner received 404 votes , while Mike Hembury was second with 397 to retain their board seats . Don Berger had 293 , and Maria Beltrametti got 237 . There was one write-in , said Village Clerk Monserrate Rivera-Fernandez

Gertrude Greene , who has worked at the polls for 30 to 40 years — she couldn ’ t remember how long — said the stream of voters was steady all day .

- Jessica Cohen

SERVING CRAWFORD , GARDINER , MAYBROOK , MONTGOMERY , PINE BUSH , SHAWANGUNK , WALDEN AND WALLKILL