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By Paul Smart

The Olive Press made a grave miscalculation in its story on the Town of Olive’s tentative 2006 budget proposal in the October 27 issue. It turns out we put together the story minus a very key element: the use of the town’s sizable unexpended balance as a means of minimizing the amount to be raised by taxes.

Furthermore, revised figures given us by town supervisor Berndt Leifeld now indicate the rise in the amount to be raised by taxes for the coming year will be 3.9 percent, as proposed. And that number can yet shift via further cuts or discovery of new revenue streams at the town’s annual budget hearing on November 10.

According to Leifeld, the total appropriations for the town’s general fund budget for the coming year will be $1,648,032, with a revenue of $415,65. After application of $300,000 in unexpended funds, the amount to be raised by taxes for the general fund will be $532,382. The 2006 highway budget appropriations will be $1,327,691, with a revenue of $87,793. After application of $100,000 in unexpended balance funds, the total to be raised by taxes, in the highway fund, will be $1,139,898.

In addition to the highway and general funds, the town is looking at a fire district appropriations amount of $425,431 to be raised by taxes, as well as a $550 amount to be raised by taxes for the town’s sole special lighting district.

The total appropriations for the town in its 2006 budget are $3,401,704, against total revenues of $503,443 and an unexpended balance fund of $400,000. The total amount to be raised by taxes, pending public hearing and resolution on November 10, is $2,498,261.

That represents a ise of $93,640 in the amount to be raised by taxes, a hike of 3.9 percent all total.

According to Leifeld, that translates in a shift in the tax rate per thousand for the general fund from $134.67 in 2005 to $145.41 per thousand for the coming year, a rise of $10.74 per thousand; and in terms of the highway budget, from $170.74 per thousand in 2005 to $177.78 per thousand for the coming year, a rise of just under $7 per thousand of assessed value. The increase in the fire district is approximately 85 cents per thousand.

The supervisor noted that results of the current reval process will not be in effect until the 2007 budget year.

Leifeld noted that the rise in the assessor’s department budget has nothing to do with the cost of the reval, as reported, but reflects the hiring of a second assessor consultant. Expenditures for the reval are coming out of a capital reserve account, he said.

The supervisor further noted that the town board has been putting funds into its contingency budgets to build up the annual unexpended budget amount to its current levels to handle difficult years such as this, where rising fuel costs, dropping sales and mortgage tax revenues, and a continuing rise in the cost of mandated benefits have been pushing municipal and county budgets up across the state and nation.

The Olive Press apologizes for any confusion that may have occurred as the result of its reporting the budget figures without Leifeld’s commentary, and especially without the inclusion of the town’s unexpended balance (released this week in a newly revised cover sheet);

The budget hearing takes place Thursday, November 10 at the Town Meeting Hall on Bostock Road starting at 7:00 p.m.

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