TOM Preliminary Budget Up 6%

Taxes to Rise 4.9% in Unincorporated Area & Drop 9.3% in Villages

by Harriet Kline

(December 13, 2007) About a dozen Iona College students received a practical lesson in government accounting as Mamaroneck Town Administrator Steve Altieri presented the Town’s preliminary 2008 budget on Thursday, December 6th. Mr. Altieri's Powerpoint presentation brought to life a balanced budget that is subject to many forces outside the Town’s control.

Factoid #1: by State law Mamaroneck Town collects taxes for three entities: Westchester County, the Mamaroneck School District, and the Town. The school system alone gets 58% of the revenues, Westchester County 20% and the remaining 22% goes to the Town.

Factoid #2: Fifty percent of the budget is based on contractual agreements with police, fire and administrative personnel. These include mandates on health insurance and pension contributions as well as fuel and energy costs and office administrative expenses..

A comparison of the 2007 and preliminary 2008 budgets in the chart below reflect the anticipated changes.

Mamaroneck Town Budget: 2007 v 2008

The tax impact on property owners in the unincorporated area is anticipated to be an increase of 4.9%. Village of Mamaroneck and Larchmont property owners will see a decrease of 9.3%.

Revenues for 2008

The property tax levy of $18.3 million for 2008 will fund 63% of the budget. Non-property tax revenues of $8.5 million will fund 29% of the budget and a surplus application of $2.3 million will fund the remaining 8% of the budget.

Non-property tax revenues include sales tax revenues, departmental income, fees for recreation programs, licenses and permits, investment income, state aid and fines.

According to Mr. Altieri, surplus funds are necessary to maintain the Town’s credit worthiness (currently at AAA) and to adequately provide for :(1) economic uncertainties; (2) local disasters and other financial hardships; (3) contingencies for unforeseen operating or capital needs; and (4) cash flow requirements. The April 2007 flood was a good example of the need for surplus funds.

Expenditures for 2008

Some increases in expenditures for 2008 are necessitated by the very success of some Town services. For example:

● In 2008 the Town Recreation Department will experiment with a Summer Travel Program for twelve-year-olds that normally attend the camp at Hommocks School. Over 1,100 children participated in the camp and aquatic programs last summer.

● The Senior Center program is serving forty seniors each day and that number increases to over 100 for special activities and parties. The Center has moved to the VFW building on the Boston Post Road to accommodate this increase and to be out of the way of ongoing renovations at the Larchmont Library. Costs for rent, supplies and a part time assistant call for an increase from $72,000 to $118,000 for the overall program.

● The Town Fire Department training and equipment costs are up by $11,000 due to a 40% increase in the number of volunteers.

So called “green projects” also account for additional expenditures: a garbage truck that runs on used vegetable oil ($10,000), a hybrid vehicle ($22,000), Town Center lighting changes ($7,000), and conversion to bioheating fuel ($3,000).

Next Steps

Some board members were ready to vote on the preliminary budget at the December 6th meeting. However, at the urging of Councilman Ernie Odierna, the board decided to delay their vote to their next regularly scheduled meeting on December 19th. A copy of the transmittal letter from Mr. Altieri to the board regarding the budget can be viewed on the Town’s web site (townofmamaroneck.org). A hard copy of the complete preliminary budget is available in the Town Administrator’s office in the Town Center.

Although the December 6th meeting had been billed as a public hearing, there were no residents in attendance to comment on the budget. Another lesson for the Iona students?

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