SOMERS, N.Y. — There are a few surprises in the proposed budget for 2013 for Somers: The $13.1 million budget carries a 1.8 percent tax levy increase and contains no town staff reductions, Somers Supervisor Mary Beth Murphy said.
"The major increases came in pension costs, a new van for seniors, a new truck for the parks department, a new police car, a large vehicle for the highway department," Murphy said.
The proposed highway fund for 2013 is $3.16 million, while the library fund would be $1 million. The tax rate for 2013 would be $13.71 per 1,000 of assessed valuation. The town would use $375,000 of its fund balance, $34,000 of the highway fund and $35,000 of the library fund.
The town spent money cleaning up after Hurricane Sandy and the nor'easter that followed it, Murphy said. But that spending won't impact the town's finances due to good planning, she said.
"I'm certainly glad that we budgeted conservatively in our highway line for overtime related to snow or storm events," Murphy said. "We will, of course, be looking for recovery for a lot of that overtime through FEMA. We've already met with FEMA representatives to start that process."
A public hearing on the budget will be held Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m. at Somers Town Hall.
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