Peekskill City Manager Unveils 2018 Budget with 2.3% Tax Hike
Taxes in Peekskill are slated to increase 2.31% under the 2018 tentative budget released by City Manager Richard Leins Friday.
If approved unchanged by the Common Council, the average single-family home residence in the city, assessed at $8,800, would pay an additional $53 annually in city taxes.
“2017 was a banner year for the City of Peekskill and 2018 will see even greater levels of success,” Leins stated in his message to the council. “There is major activity here in the City of Peekskill, both on the part of private investment, but also at the municipal level as available resources are utilized in the most prudent and cost-effective manner to provide expected service delivery within the confines of limited financial resources. In doing so, meeting the needs of residents, the most valued asset and what makes the city the special place it is, is the highest priority.”
Leins said the city’s financial status “continues to experience significant improvement,” noting New York State’s comptroller recently improved Peekskill’s financial stability rating, determining it was no longer in “fiscal stress.”
The budget provides a 2% salary increase for most non-union employees and raises for some managers, along with funding to add a new police officer and a new paid firefighter.
Leins’ spending plan utilizes $100,000 of Committed Funds-Designated for Tax Stabilization, leaving a $573,975 balance in that account. In addition, $400,000 is designated from the city’s Undesignated Fund Balance.
Meanwhile, the Water Fund budget is proposed to include a 2% increase to water rates in anticipation of significant remedial work and upgrades to the system, and to ensure the stabilization of the fund balance.
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