Gardiner has adopted a budget just short of three million dollars for 2021, excluding sewer, light and fire districts and the library. At $1,863,335, up from $1,827,142 in 2020, the increase in the amount of funds to be raised via local taxes was kept under two percent.
At the November 5 meeting of the town board meeting when the budget was passed, town supervisor Marybeth Majestic characterized the increase as “minimal.” But the limit imposed by New York State – colloquially referred to as the “two percent tax cap” – is actually 1.56 percent for Gardiner this year, so the town board also had to vote for a tax cap override as well.
A number of revenue streams on which towns normally rely are expected to plummet due to the pandemic, forcing municipal leaders to do considerable belt-tightening. New York State has eliminated its usual 20 percent aid contribution for next year, while passing along new unfunded mandates such as required purchases of Personal Protective Equipment for employees.
There was no income this year from such traditional sources as the summer day-camp program and park facility rentals, with no guarantee of an end in sight to this situation for 2021.
On the other hand, Gardiner did better than anticipated in 2020 on income from the real-estate market heating up, due to city-dwellers wanting to escape to the country as the coronavirus has raged. “The mortgage tax exceeded projections by $30,000,” Majestic reported, and building permit fees were up by about $15,000. This trend left some extra money in the fund balance, of which $79,500 from the general fund and $60,000 from the highway fund will be appropriated toward anticipated expenses for 2021.
While “No employees were laid off or furloughed” due to the coronavirus, according to Majestic, salaries for elected officials and non-union town employees were kept flat. Highway department employees had been scheduled for a 2.5 percent raise in 2020 as part of a multiyear contract; but, given the health emergency situation, town officials were able to negotiate a reduction to two percent with the union representing them.
In response to development pressures and an escalating demand for conversions of homes to short-term rental properties, one new municipal position has been created: a part-time code enforcement officer to assist busy building inspector Andy Lewis. The new job offers a $25,000 salary with no benefits. Other significant additions to the budget include $15,000 for engineering consultant services to launch the long-delayed process to update the town’s comprehensive plan and $7000 to fund the creation of baseline reports for town-owned conservation easements by the newly revived Open Space Commission.
Besides Covid, arguably Gardiner’s biggest headache for the coming year will be replacement of the condemned bridge on Clove Road. Majestic said that in the preliminary budget, $20,000 had been set aside as the town’s match for an anticipated state highway grant for the bridge project, but that number was pared down to $4800 with the decision to float a bond anticipation note (BAN) and spread the cost over several years. An older BAN that had been costing the town upwards of $39,000 a year for upgrades to the transfer station was finally paid off in 2020.
The budget passed by a 4-1 vote, with councilman Warren Wiegand voting against adoption. He argued that the 6.8 percent increase in overall expenditures was excessive, given the economic uncertainties looming ahead. “I think we took our eye off the ball with the expenses piece of this,” Wiegand said. “This Covid thing is an incredible wild card.”
The rest of the town board disagreed, citing the need to be proactive, with Majestic noting that Gardiner was currently “very vulnerable to large developments” and can wait no longer to bring the comprehensive plan in line with the recent zoning code overhaul. “We’re already seeing pressure and change regarding development due to the same Covid,” said councilman David Dukler.
“I think the budget is fine,” agreed councilwoman Laura Walls, pointing out that some flexibility was built in to cope with changing conditions. “Just because you budget for something doesn’t mean it’ll necessarily be spent.”
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