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Village of Lansing Trustees passed the 2008-2009 budget Monday in a unanimous vote that will keep the tax rate the same as it was for this year's budget.  $494,858 of the $2.1 million budget will be payed for in taxes, which Mayor Donald Hartill says will be at or below the rise in the cost of living.  "I take very seriously how much it costs people," Hartill says.  "With good management and not expanding ourselves beyond our means we can probably do that.  It really does take good management."

Hartill says that plans for the coming year include capping village streets with another one inch layer, which he says preserves the roads and helps prevent potholes.  The Village is purchasing some equipment for its Department of Public Works, and also adding a new position in that department.  The assistant clerk position will now be filled with consultants who will transcribe the minutes for the Planning Board and conduct fire inspections.  The Village will also have to cover increases in insurance rates, and will add a longevity bonus for employees who have worked there for a period of time.

Even with these additions, Hartill was pleased that the tax rate remained the same, and he predicted that it could get better.  "Because we work off of this year's tax, next year because of the increased assessment we will probably lower the tax rate," he says.  "My goal is to keep the levy at most at inflation.  I think we'll be able to sustain that.  We're in a stable situation enough now with all the infrastructure that I foresee being able to continuing that."

The budget is technically up to $2.1 million from this year's $1.8 million Village budget, but Hartill explains the reason is that work on  the design of Dart Drive and the completion of Northwood originally planned for this year has been pushed into the next fiscal year.  The approximately $400,000 allotted for that has been pushed into this year's budget even though the money has already been collected.  "I am assured by our engineering consultants that the design for Northwood will be done by the end of this calendar year, so we can bid it and spend the money next year.  We're still negotiating on Dart Drive."

"Because we didn't do some things that we should have done this year, it appears that we're doing a lot more in the coming year," Hartill says.  "But those things are being rolled over.  There is about $400,000 in that category.  It comes down to be roughly a wash because of the appropriated cash surplus."


Hartill says that roughly a third of the Village budget is funded by property taxes, with the other two thirds being picked up by sales tax revenues and miscellaneous income from things like mortgage and fuel taxes.  But despite the popular notion that the Village is sales tax-rich because it hosts the malls, it's share of sales tax is actually quite a bit lower because the county doles out sales tax revenue based on the population of each municipality.  With a fairly small population of about 3,400 people that doesn't amount to much.

Hartill says that it is a myth that most sales tax revenue comes from retail sales.  He says most of it comes from fuel taxes like those levied on home heating oil.  So far from realizing a windfall from the malls, he says it costs the Village money to have them there.  "In fact the Village taxpayers subsidize those malls," he says.  "We have to provide the infrastructure.  All our expenses are in the roads.  We were very fortunate to secure a lot of federal help (for last year's Triphammer Road reconstruction project).

Hartill says that the modest budget and stable tax rates show that the Village government has been fiscally responsible.  And he adds that in the foreseeable future he expects the tax rate to stay where it is.  "If we're doing well enough on our long term maintenance then I think probably for a fairly long time," he says.  "The total general fund will be 7%.  The tax levy will be about 2%.  There's a difference of $7,835.  I think that's probably the lowest tax levy increase in the county, and probably in New York State."

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