General News: Village Adopts New Budget
January 30, 2009
The village board adopted a $3.5 million budget for 2009-10 at a special meeting Thursday night. It also adopted an additional $2.77 million budget for the village water department.
The new budget will raise property taxes in the village of Cornwall-on-Hudson by 2.85 percent. In addition, garbage fees will increase by 4 percent.
The vote to adopt the budget was taken after closing a public hearing that did not include any of the dissent heard at the first public hearing last week when both fire and police chiefs expressed disapproval of the cuts to their department. Since then, some of the cuts were restored, although the transfer of mechanical maintenance of the fire department trucks to the department of public works will still take place over the course of the year.
The elimination of one of three crossing guards in the village will also go ahead, despite a repeated appeal by police chief Charles Williams to keep it in the budget. Mayor Joseph Gross said that the village is trying not to compromise health and safety but has to continue to find ways to save.
The new budget also includes $37,000 in contingency funds that would be used to pay for unexpected emergencies. Trustee Barbara Gosda said that she felt strongly about including that as a “cushion’ to avoid the possibility of taking out additional loans. Trustee Fogarty cautioned that if the state or county cut back on funds to the village, the board will have regroup and eliminate more expenses.
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