Deep Service Cuts Would be Needed to Comply with 2% Cap

Scarsdale Village Manager Al Gatta met with the Scarsdale League of Women Voters on Halloween morning to preview the potential effect of the state-imposed 2% tax cap. The cap would impact the 2011-12 village budget and can be overridden by a vote of 60% of the Village trustees.

Though it’s very early, Gatta presented estimated numbers and an analysis of what services might have to be cut if the trustees elect to comply with the tax cap.

Gatta’s numbers show that the Village would require a $2.79 million dollar increase from the 2011/12 budget of $46.9 million to maintain services at the current level. That’s a 5.95% increase. To further complicate matters, the 2% cap is on the tax levy, not on the total village budget, so the allowable increase is 2% of the $31.9 tax levy or $638,102.

Therefore, if the Village needs a $2.79 million increase and can only increase taxes by $638,102, there will be a $2,100,000 gap – and that doesn’t include monies the village may need to spend to alleviate flooding in the Sheldrake River Basin, improve the fire house or for additional infrastructure improvements.

Gatta also projected expected increases in Village revenues to offset expenses but could only come up with $330,000 as mortgage tax revenues are flat and interest income has steeply declined.

On the expense side, the Village is required to increase police salaries by 2.7% and increase the contribution to the pension fund by another 30%, on the heels of a 67% increase this year. It should be noted that $300,000 of that increase is exempt from the cap.

According to Gatta, the Village has been cutting budgets for the last 5-6 years and there is little else to cut without dramatically changing services now offered to residents. He asked his department heads to go through the exercise of cutting 3% from their budgets to see what would have to go, and here are a few examples of what could be omitted:

In the Village Manager’s office, a secretary would need to be cut which would prevent phones from being answered and delay requests for information. Receptions for the Village Board and Council would be eliminated.

The Fire Department would cut one position, fire captains would be returned to the line of service, and professional development, attendance at parades, non-essential overtime and the replacement of station and work uniforms would all stand to be eliminated. There would be no laundry service for uniforms and linens and the fire house would not be painted. Due to the staff cut, response time to fires would increase from 3 ½ minutes to 4 minutes.

The sanitation department could cut $350,000 out of their budget by firing employees and reducing trash pick-up to once per week, rather than twice. The recycling center (sanitation yard) could be closed on weekends. The village could reduce the number of times leaves are picked up and require all leaves for pick up to be placed in recyclable bags. Another $30,000 could be saved by not clearing the catch basins – further exacerbating flooding issues.

There are just a few of the choices that residents and trustees will face when they weigh options for what’s in and what’s out of next year’s village budget. Some of the services that the village now provides may have to be purchased privately – and it will be up to homeowners to decide whether it makes more sense to fund the village budget or pay for these services on their own.

Stay tuned.