Holley passes village budget with tax increase

HOLLEY – Village Board members on Wednesday evening adopted a $1.14 million budget for the general fund, which increases the tax rate increase 63 cents to $15.44 per $1,000 of assessed property. That’s an increase of 4.45 percent.

The Water Fund appropriation is $395,612 and the Sewer Fund appropriation is $157,650. The appropriation for the Department of Public Works is down 0.4 percent while the appropriation for the Village Police Department rises 17.4 percent. The employee benefit appropriation is down 36.5 percent.

The 2016/17 amount of the budget to be raised by taxes is $820,799, which is up 4.5 percent or $35,001 from $785,798 in the 2015/16 budget.

Trustees considered several options – from using $60,850 in Appropriated Fund Balance to keep the tax rate the same, to using no Fund Balance which would have raised the tax rate $1.14.

The option agreed upon added $10,000 to contingency and utilized $27,380 from Fund Balance. This option brings the anticipated Fund Balance after the new budget to $100,000. The 2016/17 budget was adopted by a unanimous vote.

Holley Mayor John Kenney, Jr., said work on the budget began last November and village leaders tried diligently to find savings wherever possible, despite the increasing costs of retirement and health insurance.

“The supervisors were good about addressing the needs of the village,” the mayor noted. “All services are maintained.”

Kenney encouraged village residents to get out and vote in the upcoming village election which will be held in June. Two trustee seats and the mayor are up for election.