Lloyd Town Supervisor Paul Hansut.
Difficult budget negotiations resulted in a 2019 budget for the Town of Lloyd that’s within the tax cap — two percent this year — but some of what was done to get there has the supervisor, Paul Hansut, as steamed as a garment in the dry cleaner’s business he once owned in town. The unexpended fund balance, which serves as a rainy-day fund for the town, is getting cut to 5% of the total. Cuts to salaries of elected officials will see the supervisor pulling in $24,000 in 2019; the national median wage for a full-time assistant manager at Burger King, by comparison, is $32,000 according to information on the site glassdoor.com.
Reached for comment after the meeting, Hansut said that he disagrees with a philosophy of cutting the fund balance and borrowing if an emergency arises. State law allows for a “reasonable amount” of money to be retained from one year to the next. A larger amount makes pay for the unexpected water main break or other emergency something that won’t incur borrowing costs, but if it climbs too high, it can become a political issue if residents feel they are being unjustly overtaxed.
The supervisor does feel that his own pay cut was a political decision. He is in the minority party on the town council, and his suggestion to cut all board member salaries by $2,000 was viewed as unfair from a percentage standpoint. He said he takes exception to the level of pay for a job which takes more than 30 hours any given week, and wonders who might wish to run for the position at that rate of pay. ++
What was the salary before the cut?
The State mandates that an Unreserved Balance Fund be no more than a certain percent of the budget, period. Whatever that exact percentage amount is, it can’t be turned into a slush fund, unless you are a village municipality, where all gloves are off.
(This article uses a percentage figure amount, but whatever the mandated by the State percentage is for an unreserved fund, it’s not “5%”? of the Total Budget.
If this Lloyd supervisor is working for $22,000 a year, I’d quit. The perks can’t be that great? Or, Lloyd should annex itself back into New Paltz, which is was separated from back when in the first place? The New Paltz Supervisor is making up to $62,500 a year, last I heard.
Paul did this to him self in his own political action. In order to comment you would need to hear the facts. It never had to be handled this way.
Yeah, Paul, you did this to yourself.
We would hear the facts, except that there is no Public Access Television, no sound equipment for the public in attendance, and no signer for the deaf.