Amityville to sell vintage Packard

For sale: one 1929 Packard convertible automobile, green. Owner has budget woes. Contact village of Amityville.

A week after announcing a possible 27 percent tax increase, officials said a mix of spending cuts and new revenue sources -- see above -- would probably now keep the tax rise below 10 percent.

Taxes on the average house would rise $260, to $2,960.

"We are doing our best in difficult times," said Mayor Peter Imbert.

While officials would not release details about ongoing negotiations, Imbert said the budget to be presented April 25 would cut at least $1 million from the $15.6 million proposal floated last week.

Under a tentative plan, officials said, village employees would face salary freezes and fewer overtime hours. The village is negotiating with unionized employees whose contracts mandate salary increases, said village administrator Diane Sheridan.

Changing the supplemental health insurance provider for retired employees could save up to $100,000, said Imbert.

The July 3 celebration and Independence Day fireworks will be canceled, the village newsletter will go web-only and the fire department will lose $50,000. The beach will remain open, but with fewer employees and program offerings.

The village also will try to increase revenues by $300,000, Imbert said -- by collecting unpaid building permit and impact fees and considering a beach admission fee.

Then there is the Packard, a mint-condition luxury vehicle donated to the village in 1999 by the family of Amityville resident Victor Doyle. It's been used since mainly in village parades. Trustee Ed Johnson said New York City Mayor Jimmy Walker used it before resigning from office while under investigation for alleged corruption in 1932.

Doyle put $150,000 into refurbishing it, Johnson said. Lately, maintenance has fallen to a group of car enthusiasts who are skilled but in their 80s. "When they're gone, nobody else here will know how to operate the car," Johnson said. "Now's the time to sell it."

Johnson said he'd spoken with a Packard expert who told him it might fetch $69,000. His own research turned up a Packard of slightly later vintage selling for $199,000 on an antique car website.

"We're not looking to give it away, but we're not looking to make a fortune off it," he said.