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Gallatin OKs $1.05M budget, lowers tax rate
By Molly Salisbury
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
GALLATIN — The town passed its 2010 budget on Thursday, working around the same cuts in revenues towns across Columbia County are facing.
The biggest hit Gallatin took was to its mortgage tax. Homes may be selling better in Columbia County than the rest of New York state, but they are not selling the way they were last year.
Attendance at the public hearing on the budget was scarce, consisting of a reporter, a lawyer, and a resident.
The budget passed with an 8.8 percent tax levy hike; however, Gallatin residents’ dollar payment per thousand is a bit lower than in surrounding towns. In Livingston, the tax rate in 2010 will be about $1.88 per $1,000 and in Taghkanic the tax rate will be about $1.28 per $1,000.
In 2010, Gallatin residents will pay $.926 per $1,000, and in 2009 they paid $1.08 per thousand. Rates per $1,000 go down as assessments go up — it doesn’t mean property owners are paying less.
Everyone across the board is getting a 3.5 percent raise. Supervisor Lynda Scheer defended this move, explaining that Gallatin is the only town in the county to not have a pension plan. Back in the 1920s, New York state offered towns an option to buy in, and Gallatin was one of the few towns not to go with the plan.
Scheer looked into buying into the state pension plan at this point, and the cost was around $2 million. That price being undoable, the town is sticking with taking care of its employees by, not guaranteeing, but dependably offering, 3.5 percent raises.
The budget came in at $1.07 million, with $491,576 of that to be raised by property taxes. A pretty large hunk of the budget, $151,121, is taken up in fire district fees — Gallatin contacts with no less than five (Ancram, Livingston, Milan, Pine Plains and Taghkanic) to cover 39.6 square miles.
Highway departments usually take up the bulk of the budget and Gallatin is no exception. The highway fund appropriation comes to $457,548, which is actually $47,052 less than in 2009.
The board commended Scheer on her job and the budget passed unanimously.
The biggest hit Gallatin took was to its mortgage tax. Homes may be selling better in Columbia County than the rest of New York state, but they are not selling the way they were last year.
Attendance at the public hearing on the budget was scarce, consisting of a reporter, a lawyer, and a resident.
The budget passed with an 8.8 percent tax levy hike; however, Gallatin residents’ dollar payment per thousand is a bit lower than in surrounding towns. In Livingston, the tax rate in 2010 will be about $1.88 per $1,000 and in Taghkanic the tax rate will be about $1.28 per $1,000.
In 2010, Gallatin residents will pay $.926 per $1,000, and in 2009 they paid $1.08 per thousand. Rates per $1,000 go down as assessments go up — it doesn’t mean property owners are paying less.
Everyone across the board is getting a 3.5 percent raise. Supervisor Lynda Scheer defended this move, explaining that Gallatin is the only town in the county to not have a pension plan. Back in the 1920s, New York state offered towns an option to buy in, and Gallatin was one of the few towns not to go with the plan.
Scheer looked into buying into the state pension plan at this point, and the cost was around $2 million. That price being undoable, the town is sticking with taking care of its employees by, not guaranteeing, but dependably offering, 3.5 percent raises.
The budget came in at $1.07 million, with $491,576 of that to be raised by property taxes. A pretty large hunk of the budget, $151,121, is taken up in fire district fees — Gallatin contacts with no less than five (Ancram, Livingston, Milan, Pine Plains and Taghkanic) to cover 39.6 square miles.
Highway departments usually take up the bulk of the budget and Gallatin is no exception. The highway fund appropriation comes to $457,548, which is actually $47,052 less than in 2009.
The board commended Scheer on her job and the budget passed unanimously.
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