by Bea Peterson
The Hoosick Falls Village Organizational meeting on Tuesday, April 17, was followed by a Public Hearing on the 2012-2013 budget. The General Fund portion of the budget included a 3.15 percent reduction in Village taxes. “We’ve done a good job cutting costs,” said Mayor Matt Monahan. [private]The Highway budget was lowered $15,000 because there is an abundance of sand and salt that was not used this past winter. The heating oil budget was increased from $5,000 to $10,000 because of rising prices. A copy of the budget is available in the Village Clerk’s office.
Water/Sewer
The Board has a better handle on the water situation now that metered water has been in place for a while. During the next water/sewer billing cycle the Village will only bill for metered water used, the Mayor said. It will not round up the water amount as in the past. There will no longer be a charge for water use overages as well. Billing will be strictly for the amount of water used. Fifty thousand dollars from the Water fund balance will be used for water main improvements and water line changes on Snow Street.
The Board approved the appointment of Matt Brownell as Assistant Water Treatment Plant Operator.
Fifty thousand dollars from the Sewer budget fund balance will be used for lining more of the old sewer lines. The Mayor pointed out that Plant Operator Dan Merrill is doing an awesome job in bringing in revenue for the Plant.
The amounts of the Water and Sewer Bond repayments have increased and will continue to increase until the Bonds are paid off. Overall, however, the Water budget was decreased by 5.39 percent and the sewer budget was decreased by 8.35 percent from the previous year.[/private]