Village of Ocean Beach OKs $4.7M budget

Village of Ocean Beach trustees unanimously approved a $4.7 million 2012-13 budget Saturday that includes a scaled-down 3.9 percent tax increase.

"Two weeks ago, we had a budget with a 4.9 percent tax increase, and we've whittled it down," Mayor James Mallott said.

The budget includes slight increases in garbage-collection rates and the "water debt" fee for the village water tower.

The spending plan also includes $25,000 for a new police vehicle. Ocean Beach is the only village on Fire Island with its own police force.

The five-member board voted to bust the state's 2 percent tax cap in March and initially proposed a 4.9 percent increase in early April, said clerk-treasurer Steven Brautigam.

A new contract with Fire Island Ferries that boosts rent at the village-owned ferry terminal allowed the board to keep taxes down and start replacing the $300,000 borrowed from the general fund last year for emergency dock repairs.

Trustees also signed off Saturday on adding a part-time seasonal clerk at $12 an hour and hiring Dimitri Enterprises to fix two village roofs for $218,000, which Brautigam said was the lowest of five bids.

Mallott said he's in talks with the Army Corps of Engineers about plans to build a new ferry terminal -- part of the new contract negotiated with Fire Island Ferries.

Discussions have been under way for months, and the timeline for replacing the old, weather-beaten terminal has been pushed back several times.

About 25 residents attended the meeting in the boathouse.