CATSKILL — The Board of Trustees is slated to hold a public hearing tonight on a measure allowing it to exceed the state’s property tax cap limit in the municipality’s upcoming budget.
“The local law allowing for the override of the tax cap is sourced from New York Conference of Mayors (NYCOM) and serves as a precautionary measure in case the village encounters challenges in determining appropriations to sustain its operations throughout the fiscal year,” said board Vice President Natasha Law.
The board is developing the village’s 2024-25 budget, and the first step is the adoption of a local law to exceed the tax cap.
“Without the adoption of this local law, the village would be unable to exceed the 2 percent cap,” Law added.
The municipal budget is not finished, but since 2020 property taxes have increased in the village almost annually since 2020, according to village clerk Anna Signoretti.
In the 2020-21 budget, the property tax rate was $23.90 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation. That rate went up to $23.91 in the 2021-22 while it went down slightly to $23.83 in the 2022-23 budget. In the adopted 2023-24 village budget, the rate increased to $25.26.
The public hearing is scheduled to be held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.