The latest iteration of New Castle's proposed 2012 budget is almost same as what the town unveiled last month.

The new version, called a "preliminary budget," was presented Tuesday night to the town board by Town Administrator Penny Paderewski, who noted the difficulties.

“It’s been a very, very tough year.”

The newest iteration does not restore the biggest cuts proposed last month, which include five layoffs: 2 civilians in the police department, 2 recreation workers and one in the town clerk's office. There is a total reduction of 7.5 positions.

The newer budget proposal still leaves a greatly reduced Department of Public Works staff, which is down to nine men and one foreman. Back in 2009, according to Paderewski, the town had 14 men and one foreman, doing the same 100 miles of roads.

In her revised budget message, Paderewski noted how rising calls and heavy weather have made this job difficult.

Tax Levy vs. Tax Rate

Meanwhile, the proposed changes in taxes are unchanged, with the town continuing to grapple with dealing with the new tax cap. The cap applies only to the tax levy, which is the total amount of revenue that the town needs to raise in property taxes. The number that more directly impacts taxpayers is the tax rate, which is the amount of taxes per paid $1,000 of assessed property value.

The budget calls for a levy of $19,333,001. Technically, the town is only increasing the levy by 2 percent, as it created a new "levy base" number when it multipled last year's total ($18,848,757) by 1.0063, a state-issued figure called a "growth factor," which accounts for changes to the property tax base. Without this growth factor, the levy increases by 2.57 percent. The later method is how annual tax levy changes used to be calculated before the cap was instituted last June.

The tax rate will increase by 2.98 percent, to $13.19 per $1,000 of assessed value. That tax is based on changes to the general and highway funds, the only two that all town residents pay. The tax levy, however, includes every town fund and special district, many of which only get taxes from segments of the town. The fact that the tax rate is not limited by the cap was something that Paderewski repeatedly emphasized in her budget presentation.

On average, a taxpayer with a assessed property value of $172,900 will be paying $2,281.60 for general and highway fund expeneses.

The town also has the right, based on an exemption under the cap, to a factor in a $131,157 "pension allowance," or a certain amount of the state-mandated public employee pension contributions that must be made.

What Are the Changes From the First Version?

The minor changes made from the first version include:

• -$125 in regional group dues for the supervisor's office
• +$750 in support for the receive of taxes
• +$10,000 in contractual services for the assessor. The main reason for this increase has to do with a series of property tax assessment challenges brought on by Chappaqua Crossing owner Summit/Greenfield.
• -$750 in part-time help for the assessor
• +$500 in records management funding for the town clerk

Going Forward

The town is legally required to adopt a budget by Dec. 20. The town board plans on voting on its budget on Dec. 13.