Hastings Budget Passes With 2.34% Tax Rate Increase

Taxes will rise 2.34 percent under Hastings-on-Hudson’s recently adopted 2013-14 Village budget. This means an extra $92.72 tacked onto your tax bills annually for the average home assessed at $16,900. 

“We will point with some pride in producing the lowest tax increase of any Rivertown village that did not raid their fund balance to bring down their rate,” said Hastings-on-Hudson Mayor Peter Swiderski.

Village taxes are about $4,100 a year on average, and represent about 21 percent of the total property tax bills (school taxes take up 66 percent, county taxes 11 percent and town taxes are 2 percent).

Services and programs will remain as they are in the current fiscal year. Since the village was down a police officer, the 2013-14 budget will allow for the hiring of an additional member to the police department.

 Department budgets mostly stayed the same, though some went down a bit while the police department’s budget increased slightly. The 2013-14 budget includes a contingency fund for $220,000, an amount that was also set aside in the current budget. The budget also includes funds set aside for the comprehensive plan implementation, LED bulb replacement and other items.

This is the second year in a row that the Village’s budget has remained within the state mandated tax cap, despite increasing costs. 

“The result is continuing pressure on our department staff to cut costs and try to maintain services despite decreased funding,” said Swiderski. “Our biggest challenge will remain staying within budget constraints in a world of mandates imposed from elsewhere.”  

The 2013-14 budget represents a $243,117 increase over last year’s budget for a total of $13,609,361. The increases come from an additional $139,900 in health and other insurance costs, an 8 percent increase; a 9 percent rise in pension costs at $60,867; and fire hydrant rental costs that rose by $45,000 or 24 percent.

“We continue to improve our financial position,” said Swiderski. “Our reserve fund, now at $748,240, is likely to grow to around $900,000 by the close of this fiscal year, ahead of our projections. This is well on the way to our target of $1,300,000 based on a standard recommended amount.”

Click here for a copy of the budget in full. 

Like Us On Facebook/ Follow Us On Twitter/ Sign Up For Our Newsletter