A Tarrytown Tax Review

A number of Tarrytown Villagers have recently asked about the viability of meeting certain budget shortfalls with Village funds from what is known as a surplus account and a long term bond issue.

Village Administrator Steve McCabe, in a recent interview, referred specifically to the new firehouses and the new Village Hall, each of which are now over their original cost estimates due to design changes and significant increases in building costs. McCabe indicated that the State Accounting Office does permit the accrual of funds over a reasonable period of time in order to defray unexpected or unusually high expenses coming up in the immediate future, very often in conjunction with building costs. The idea is to prevent a Village or Town from having to issue an annual tax bill that is far too expensive for a given year.

When it comes to a bond issue, McCabe pointed out that the use of long term borrowing is a major and ongoing method of financing the budgets of almost every community in the U.S. The bond is a regular and consistent method for handling major repairs, salaries, insurance, equipment and new building projects among other normal expenditures.

McCabe also pointed out that the Village operates its budgets six years in advance so that major expenditures can be anticipated and "rainy days" can be more easily handled. In the case of expenses that increase without anticipated control, as happened in the Village Hall situation, the combination of using surplus funds in conjunction with an ongoing bond purchase is well within State Accounting regulations and recommended by financial analysts according to the Village Administrator.

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About the Author: Arnold Thiesfeldt