At press time the 1999 Annual Organization had not yet taken place, (the meeting having been scheduled for April 5 at 8 p.m., the evening of Garden City Life's production day), but scheduled for the agenda of the meeting was the swearing-in of Harold P. Hecken, Jr., the trustee from the Eastern Section as mayor of Garden City, as well as the swearing-in of Gerard Lundquist, who had served as the president of the WPOA, as a new trustee. Also listed on the agenda was the hearing for the 1999-2000 Tentative Budget. In advance of the hearing, a copy of the proposed budget and a notice of the hearing were made available to the public and the media. (An update of this story will be published in next week's edition.)

At press time, the total of the Tentative Budget was listed at $39,008,100, with current surplus expected to cover $2,923,968, estimated revenues to cover $4,112,021 and the tax levy to cover $31,972,111. In 1999 the assessment trend for residential versus commercial property leaves 68.25 percent of the burden on residential property with only 31.75 percent to the commercial property. The Overview Message drafted by Village Auditor James E. Olivo and Village Administrator Robert L. Schoelle, Jr. explains that the $4,141,350 net decrease in the assessed valuation is "attributable to Tax Certiorari actions and the removal of Long Island Power Authority Property." LIPA's real property taxes are now included as a direct revenue under a Payment in Lieu of Taxes.

The assessed valuation of taxable property subject to full tax was listed in the notice for the public hearing at $119,477,247. The tax rate per $100 of assessed valuation is expected to be $26.76. According to a release from the Village summarizing the March 25 Budget Meeting, "To balance the budget, a tax rate of $26.76 is called for, an increase of 3.64 percent ($.94)."

The Tentative Budget has been increased $870,957 or 2.28 percent over the 1998-99 budget. Areas comprising the greatest bulk of the expenses include catagories such as salaries, which comprises 38.9 percent of the total Tentative Budget, at $15,181,970. The budget is broken down by department and lists expenses for each area of Village maintenance, including items like refuse and garbage at $3,096,622 and street cleaning at $495,853. Salaries, benefits, equipment, and supplies are accounted for in each area of the operation of the Village. Debt Service is listed at $1,972,061.

A Five-Year Capital Plan is included in the budget to help the Village fund maintenance and capital improvements as needs arise. It was also noted in the Overview Message that the Police Benevolent Association's contract expired on May 31, 1997 and that arbitration has not yet commenced, but is scheduled to begin soon. Also, the Village's CSEA contract expires May 31, 2001 and the Professional Fire Fighters Association contract will expire May 31, 2000.

Olivo and Schoelle note in their Overview that, "The Village Board of Trustees made difficult choices throughout the budgetary process. The most notable decision is wherever possible to continue funding municipal needs on a 'pay as you go' basis, which will benefit our residents in future years in the form of continued low debt service." They also explained, "for the past several years, increases in borrowing to finance acquisitions and required improvement has raised the net outstanding general debt of the Village to $10,060,000, representing 5.52 percent of the constitutional debt limit of $182,126,952."

Olivo and Schoelle concluded, "Although the economic climate is improved, the revenue/expenditure squeeze will continue to challenge the Village. We are grateful to the Property Owners' Associations and Chamber of Commerce for providing valuable input to our Capital Plan. As we move into the next millennium, we are mindful of the need to continue aggressively maintaining the infrastructure in order to avoid unexpected failures and their related costs."

Again, a full report of the budget hearing and the April 5 Annual Organization Meeting will be given in the next issue of Garden City Life.