Hempstead Town to hold two hearings on proposed $431.9M budget

The Hempstead Town board will hold two public hearings today on the preliminary 2014 budget.

The budget hearings will be held in the Nathan L.H. Bennett Pavilion, adjacent to Hempstead Town Hall, on 1 Washington St. in Hempstead Village, at 2:30 and 7 p.m. The town released the tentative 2014 budget on Sept. 30.

The board’s proposed $431.9 million fiscal 2014 budget would be a 3 percent increase from this year’s $419.4 million budget, but the tax levy would be reduced by about $1.2 million, to $261 million.

The proposal would budget for the use of $31.2 million in reserves, up from $29.1 million this year. The town began this year with about $120 million in reserves, town officials have said.

Officials call for slightly reducing taxes for the town’s homeowners. For the owner of a home valued at about $250,000, the town tax bill — which makes up about 9 percent of the total property tax bill — would be reduced to $843 from $845 a year, officials have said.

The town expects revenue to grow from an expected $128.1 million in 2013 to an expected $139.7 million in 2014. Sale taxes are expected to grow to $40.5 million from $35.7 million, mortgage tax receipts to $17.8 million from $15.3 million, and refuse fees to $14.8 million from $13.2 million, officials have said.

The board will consider at the hearing adopting the preliminary budget for the fiscal year beginning Jan. 1. A budget must be approved by Nov. 20 under state law.