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Town budget has 2.6% tax rate dip
By John J. Hopkins Times
Spending may be up slightly, but the average homeowner in Cheektowaga can expect to see his tax bill drop by almost $40 under the 2008 tentative budget submitted to the town Monday by Supervisor James J. Jankowiak.
Jankowiak and Director of Administration and Finance Brian Krause said reductions in health care costs, equipment purchases and debt services along with additional sales tax revenue and interest income led to the 2.6-percent drop in the tax rate.
Based on an assessed house of $58,000, the average tax bill is projected to be $1,488.24, a $39.69 drop from 2007, or 2.6 percent.
"We're very pleased with the decrease," Krause said of the $76,059,218 spending plan, which is $261,777 more than in 2007.
Unless changes are made to the budget, town residents living outside the villages can expect to pay a property tax of $18.94 per assessed thousand dollars in the Ad Valorem budget, a 74-cent drop.
Residents living on the Cheektowaga side of the Village of Depew are projected to pay $11.71 per thousand, a 60-cent drop.
Taxes for Sloan residents and those who live in the small portion of Williamsville that sits within the town borders would be $13.09 per thousand, a 59.5-cent drop.
Key reductions include $300,000 in equipment and $150,000 in debt services. Reductions in health insurance costs through the use of one provider has allowed the town to save $1 million annually.
"We're still benefitting from that, and maintaining our costs at a very reasonable level," Krause said. "Retirement system costs are down significantly because the rate from the state went down."
Retirement incentives offered in the past through a program created by then-State Comptroller Carl McCall have been paid off. Jankowiak said he doesn't anticipate Cheektowaga participating in similar programs in the future.
"I don't think the board would ever consider the early retirement again," Jankowiak said. "It's very costly to the municipality: the town, the villages and school districts."
New garbage trucks, at $160,000 each, to replace a rapidly aging fleet, contributed to costs in recent years. Two were purchased last year, but Krause said the sanitation department is in a position now where the town can purchase one annually.
Jankowiak said the "life cycle" of a sanitation truck is generally 10 years. Coincidentally, Cheektowaga has 10 garbage routes.
"We're at a point where our fleet is in decent shape," Krause said.
Three new full-time positions, including a police detective, housing
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