Village Board Votes To Exceed State Tax Cap For 2013 Budget

The Massapequa Park Village Board voted unanimously Monday to allow a 2013 budget that exceeds the current state Tax Levy cap of 2.1 percent.

Mayor James Altadonna had  previously indicated that financial fallout from Hurricane Sandy was the diving force behind the need to exceed the cap.

“Hurricane Sandy has taken a bit of a toll on our finances,” he said. “Quite honestly, it is good that we did have a surplus budget, because if we didn’t we wouldn’t have been able to expend the funds that we needed to clean up the Village. We didn’t need to submit an anticipatory note...we handled everything in-house.”

The current amount of the Village’s Tax Levy is unknown, as the 2013 budget is still in the works, according to Altadonna.

Another public hearing involved the considered use of the Community Development funds provided annually by Nassau County, which Altadonna said the Village uses primairly to help residents who don’t have the financial means to make needed home improvements themselves.

However, Altadonna said that the final figure of the Community Development funds may be affected by budget issues in Washington that are trickling down to Nassau County, and in turn, local municipalities.

“We all know what’s going on federally,” he said, referring to sequestration. “We’ve been told that is going to affect these funds, but we don’t know how badly. We will get back to you when we know.”

Currently the proposed use of these funds, which was approved by a unanimous board vote, is as follows:

• Residential Rehabilitation: $300,000
• Public Facilities and Improvements/Handicap Ramps: $150,000
• Revitalization: $300,000

The Board also authorized the Village Treasurer to perform a Budget Modification to the General Fund, increasing the expense line from $165,000 to $205,000. This financial bump, Altadonna said, was again due to Hurricane Sandy.

“This was to repair the street lights,” he said. “We lost a number of street lights during the storm.”

Altadonna indicated that the Village will be getting a degree of reimbursement for the lighting repair expenses, as well as other expenses relating to Hurricane Sandy, from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).