By NEAL RENTZ
Lewisboro Supervisor Tony Gonçalves on Monday presented a tentative 2025 budget that includes spending levels that would exceed the state-mandated property tax cap for the town of 2.49 percent.
The budget, which is subject to change, was distributed to the town board on Oct. 28, prior to that night’s meeting.
In his budget letter, Gonçalves stated that the tentative budget is $1 million over the tax cap and without changes the tax rate would increase by 14.2 percent. The proposed tax levy for 2025 is $9,789,360.
Gonçalves stated there were ways the town board could get closer to meeting the tax cap, including looking at all budget lines for reductions, revisiting expenses and revenues.
The supervisor’s tentative budget calls for spending in the general fund to be $11,820.026 and the highway fund for $4.850,618, for a total of $16,670,644 and an increase of $1,393,177 in spending compared to this year.
Total revenues in the 2025 tentative budget would increase $172,769 to $7,539,789.
In comparison to the current year budget, the 2025 tentative budget calls for county tax revenues to increase by $410,000, interest income by $70,000, mortgage tax revenue by $50,000 and judicial revenue by $40,000; interest and penalty revenues are expected to decrease by $70,000.
Spending in the Highway Department spending would increase by $651,464, the Police Department by $107,260 and the maintenance department by $97,222; the town’s annual subsidy to the library would go up by $48,249. Spending in the Parks and Recreation Department would increase by $46,687, after taking into account expected changes in revenue.
During the meeting, Lewisboro Library Director Cindy Rubino and town Recreation Supervisor Nicole Caviola addressed the town board.
Rubino said the library had 5,270 program attendees in 2023, a 67 percent increase from the previous year. From year to date in 2024, the library has lent out 12.2 percent more materials than 2023, she noted. As of 2023, the library had 6,743 cardholders, which represents more than half of the population of Lewisboro, she said.
The Lewisboro Library is a nonprofit organization and it raises about $200,000 annually, which is about 26 percent of its operating budget, with the rest of the operating budget, $544,054, funded by the town, Rubino said.
The library is planning to provide its staff with pay increases of 3 percent next year, which includes the state-mandated 50 cent increase per hour in the minimum wage, Rubino said. The library is seeking to restore its operating hours to pre-pandemic levels, which would include Sundays (not including Easter) and one evening per week, she said. The library is also seeking to increase the availability of digital content, she said.
Rubino said the library is currently conducting a community survey, which can be accessed on its website at Lewisborolibrary.org.
Councilman Richard Sklarin told Rubino the town is in a difficult financial situation in the coming year and the town board needs to consider what it will be spending. Sklarin asked if the library could change some of its operating hours to provide residents more access to the facility. The survey is “asking people what they require” from the library, Rubino said.
The library should offer services that “benefits the most amount of people,” Sklarin said.
Caviola told the town board her department plans to increasepay for many of its staff because of the state-mandated 50 cents per hour minimum wage increase. “You’re going to see some jumps in the salary lines,” she said. For instance, the town needs to hire additional lifeguards next year, she said.
“I am looking at a 3.9 percent increase in my budget,” Caviola said.
Sklarin asked Caviola if the Recreation Department kept such statistics as the percentage of residents who take part in its individual programs and the capacity level that each program operates at. Her department’s programs “either break even or make a profit” Caviola replied. The department will not offer programs that lose money, she said.
The board voted unanimously to set a public hearing on the budget and legislation to give the board the authority to break the tax cap for Dec. 9.
The tentative budget can be viewed on the finance department’s section of the town’s website at lewisborony.gov/finance.
Zoning amendments public hearing
Also at the meeting, the town board voted unanimously to set a public hearing for Dec. 9 on the proposed zoning amendments, which were part of the process to revise the town’s Master Plan; the board recently approved the revised plan. Gonçalves said the amendments can be viewed on the town board and supervisor’s page on the town’s website.