Maybrook to see 9% tax increase

By Laura Fitzgerald
Posted 3/27/19

Maybrook residents may see a 9 percent tax increase this year as the village tries to restore its zero fund balance.

The new 2019-20 tax rate for a Town of Montgomery resident will be $15.43 per …

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Maybrook to see 9% tax increase

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Maybrook residents may see a 9 percent tax increase this year as the village tries to restore its zero fund balance.


The new 2019-20 tax rate for a Town of Montgomery resident will be $15.43 per $1,000 assessed, up from $14.17 last year. The same resident with a $150,000 home will see a $190 per year increase, or $16 more per month.


The new 2019-20 tax rate for a Town of Hamptonburg resident, which has a small contingency in Maybrook, will be $10.03 per $1,000 assessed. The same resident with a $150,000 home will see an increase of $123 per year, or $11 a month.


The zero fund balance has caused the Office of the State Comptroller to list the village as moderately stressed for fiscal year ending in 2018. Now, village board members said the village has to restore its fund balance with the tax hike.


“We have to get our fund balance back,” trustee James Barnett said. “We have no choice.”


The fund balance is a municipality’s difference between assets and liabilities. The New York State Government Finance Officers’ Association recommends municipalities keep a fund balance of at least two months of annual total expenditures as insurance against unanticipated expenses or revenue shortfalls.


Maybrook Mayor Dennis Leahy said in previous years, the village has undertaxed its residents in an attempt to keep taxes and expenditures low.

The village’s expenditures in 2018-19 was approximately $3.58 million, the lowest of the three villages in the Town of Montgomery and the third lowest in Orange County.


At the same time, the village is still recovering from the loss of its elementary school and the recession of 2008. The board has also pushed for economic development and several public works projects with a fiscally conservative budget.


Despite the tight budget, Leahy said the village will continue to promote economic development by working with investors and developers to entice businesses to open shop in the village. The village is in frequent conversation with representatives from the Galaxy project as it moves forward.


“Our plan is to stay the course with economic development, continue infrastructure upgrades and continue to keep an eye on our expenditures in the coming year,” Leahy said.


The final budget is due to the state on May 1. The village will hold a public hearing for the proposed budget at its reorganization meeting on April 8 at 7 p.m. at village hall, 111 Schipps Lane.

Maybrook, budget, taxes