Our Hometown
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County Budget passes The Wayne County Board of Supervisors adopted the 2004 budget yesterday after defeating it last week. The $126 million spending plan had been previously opposed because of staffing cuts and concerns over using too much surplus to keep the tax rate at its current $8.34 per $1000. The board is digging into surplus funds by nearly $8 million, leaving a balance for cash flow of about $22 million. Earlier this week, the board passed a resolution to keep a minimum surplus fund of $20 million for 2005. Four supervisors voted against the budget yesterday, including the three who had been most vocal about using so much of their cash reserve: Arcadia's Joe DeSanto, Savannah's Don Colvin, and Sodus Supervisor Donna Chittenden. The fourth 'no' vote came from Chairman of the Board Marvin Decker. Those four negative votes weighed in at 1335, with a majority of 2113 needed. Having been warned by Fiscal Officer Keith Kubasik that some serious work must be done on next year's budget to avoid a double-digit tax increase, the board then made it's first move in that direction. Following a brief closed session, supervisors voted unanimously to require department heads and full-time elected officials to pay 20 percent of their health insurance costs. Neither had previously made contributions to the costs. Chittenden applauded the Personnel Committee and County Administrator Kim Park for making the move. Personnel Committee Chair Leo Jenkins (Galen) said that similar actions would be taken for other employees, including the supervisors themselves. Because of varying equalization rates, different towns and villages will pay different county taxes. So, although the average county rate remains at $8.34, the county rate in Marion will take a hike from $8.07 to almost $8.80. In Arcadia, the rate will fall from $9.15 to $9.06 outside the village of Newark, and from $9.47 to $9.39 inside. The lowest rate in the county will be in Rose, where residents will pay about $8.08 per $1000 of assessed valuation. Click here to view current tax rates. Copyright
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