Amityville Village budget draft has 1.05% tax hike

Amityville Village trustee Nick LaLota last week unveiled a $15.7 million draft budget for 2016-2017 that would rely on a 1.05 percent tax levy increase while setting aside $450,000 for capital projects and the village’s contingency fund.

“For the first time in eight years this village has a positive fund balance and this budget will add to that,” said LaLota, the village budget officer, calling the plan “balanced and responsible.”

The property tax levy would be $35.04 per $100 of assessed valuation, bringing the bill for a $375,000 house to $4,258 from $4,198. Village residents do not pay a Suffolk County police district tax.

The tax increase would conform to the state-imposed property tax cap for the fourth consecutive year.

Police spending, the largest portion of the budget, accounts for $7.9 million of the total and would fund a new police officer and a new cruiser.

Other items under consideration for the spending plan include a new pickup truck for the Department of Public Works, road repair and a new roof for the Mill Street firehouse.

“It’s not easy to comply with the tax cap, keep or grow village services and maintain strong fiscal health for the village, and we feel very proud that we’re doing all three,” LaLota said in an interview Friday.