Massapequa Park vote on breaking tax cap a 'safety net'

The village of Massapequa Park trustees on Monday night approved breaking the tax cap for the fiscal 2015 budget if needed.

The village does not expect to break the cap, but wants to have the authority to do so as it begins to work on its budget, village administrator Peggy Caltabiano said.

“We don’t anticipate going over it,” Caltabiano said of the state cap. The authorization is “there basically as a safety net.”

Caltabiano said the village expects to begin working on its budget proposal next week. The budget has to be passed by April 1.

The state tax cap generally restricts tax levy increases to the lesser of 2 percent or the rate of inflation.

Caltabiano said lower-than-projected spending and higher-than-projected revenue are expected to create a more than $1 million surplus this year. The village budgeted $5.9 million in spending for the current fiscal year, which ends May 31.

Massapequa Park ended its last fiscal year with a surplus of about $950,000.