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The Village of Lansing Board of Trustees passed its $3.1 million budget Monday.  The new budget is 70.86% higher than last year's budget, in part because of major road projects planned for this summer.  For village taxpayers it will mean a 10% rise in the tax rate, from $0.99 to $1.10.  Mayor Donald Hartill said the rise is part one of a two year plan to bring the tax rate back to a sustainable level.

"Three years ago we were adding a little more to capital reserves than we liked," he said.  "It was a period when we weren't doing heavy maintenance, so I reduced the tax rate from $1.20 to around a dollar.  Then instead of being at a level that is sustainable we we suddenly at a dollar.  We've managed over that intervening term to sustain it.  But this year it's clear that if we were to continue on that path we would be negative on our capital reserves in about ten years.  That is not a sensible way to run an enterprise like the Village of Lansing."

Hartill expressed some surprise that only a couple of people came to the public hearing, especially in light of the 10% tax rate hike. 

"In the days when raising taxes is considered to be anti-whatever, you also have to be sensible in terms of your fiscal responsibility," he said.  "The only alternative that we have is to somehow decrease our services.  I'm just not prepared to do that."

This year's budget includes salary increases to bring two Department of Public works salaries up to the level other municipalities pay.  Health benefits saw a significant rise because two employees have now become part of that program.  Compensation for the Trustees rose after being frozen for five or six years.  Hartill said the increase is on a par with inflation.

The two biggest road projects are on Triphammer Road and Bush Lane.While the portion of Triphammer Road north of the village is Tompkins County's responsibility, it falls to the Village to maintain the part within its borders.  The project is expected to cost $815,000 plus an additional $12,500 for new LED lights. Hartill said the roadway will have to be milled down a few inches, rather than just paving on top of the existing road, because it would be more costly to raise existing drainage grates.  Total spending this season on road projects is anticipated to be $1,763,036, about $1.36 million more than is spent for usual annual road maintenance.

The money will come from capital reserves, not the tax hike.

The Trustees passed the budget 5-0, as well the $1.3 million sewer district budget and the nearly $1.4 million water district.

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