by Bea Peterson
The Hoosick Town Board put the finishing touches on the 2011 budget at its workshop meeting on Tuesday, October 26. A public hearing on that budget was scheduled for Thursday, October 28, at 7 pm. Basically, there will be no increases in the Town portion of the next tax bill. Councilman Bob Ryan noted facetiously that there was an increase. It is .007 percent.
Overall the Town tax bills may go up as Rensselaer County Executive Kathy Jimino recently announced a 4.9 percent increase in the proposed County budget. Increases in the area Fire Department budgets are small. Hoosick Falls will increase by three cents per thousand, and Buskirk will increase 22 cents per thousand while Hoosick, North Hoosick and West Hoosick will remain the same. Councilman Louis Schmigel pointed out that Buskirk has plans to improve the service they offer those in their district, hence the increase.
While allocating and readjusting funds throughout the budget, the Board approved three percent raises for several Town employees and larger increases for Town Justices. Salaries for the Town Supervisor and Town Councilmen are unchanged. Town Supervisor Keith Cipperly said State mandated payments for health insurance and workers compensation make it difficult to hold the line on taxes. Overall, he said, “Taxes are disgusting. State mandates are not an excuse for raising taxes [on other levels].” Deputy Supervisor Mark Surdam said, “The Town is looking down the barrel of three major projects. One is the White Creek bridge. The second is a new swimming pool liner, and the third is repair of the tennis courts.” Work on the courts is expected to happen in the spring at a cost of $15,000 to $20,000.
