Town budget: gift to taxpayers or political document?

Myers said Costello “was mad that I hadn’t sat down with him and met with him about what his wants were for his departments prior to issuing my tentative budget.”

She said Costello’s departments (police and parks & rec) submitted their budget worksheets before the tentative budget was compiled. “He should’ve been up on that,” she said. “Not one board member called or emailed me during the budget process at all.”

Furthermore, according to Myers, she is not required to sit down and discuss department budgets with board members. “I’m required to have the tentative budget on time to the clerk. That’s my job. Then it’s work time.” Due to the current economic climate, “the town can’t support wish lists anymore,” Myers said.

Costello believes in the end, such rhetoric will prove empty and the reductions won’t pan out.

In terms of cuts, “There are things that have been cut that are illegal. You can’t cut them,” he said. “The town has contractual obligations that it has to meet, and no one can arbitrarily impact those.”

Costello, however, did not go into detail about which cuts he was referring to. He said that Myers’ actions were “designed to shine a good light on the tentative budget, that somehow the supervisor can deliver a budget that’s better than the 2 percent cap that may indicate a decrease in taxes. Residents shouldn’t be rolled into accepting that. That would be wonderful if it’s true. I am very skeptical, because we had the same thing happen last year, and after we told everyone we were passing a 1 percent budget, two weeks after, we went back and voted on the largest tax increase in the last ten years.”

-Additional reporting by Will Dendis

The tax levy in the tentative budget is less than last year’s, but it’s still well above previous years. (Each total represents the general tax levy, which includes town-wide, town outside the village and highway taxes, but not special district taxes, or parts of the budget not funded by taxes. Source: Town Clerk)