Politics & Government

Town of Yorktown Budget Hearing Tonight

Depending on how you look at it, Yorktown's preliminary 2013 budget either raises or lowers a homeowner's property taxes.

Yorktown homeowners will have a chance to voice their opinion on the town of Yorktown's preliminary 2013 budget during the public hearing, scheduled for Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall.  

Depending on how you look at it, the budget either raises or lowers a homeowner’s property taxes. 

The basic town tax rate, funding such essential services as police, roads and library, sees a 4.18 percent hike, despite a small rise in spending. That basic rate supports only the “big three” of Yorktown’s budgetary compartments: the general, highway and library funds. Special-use districts, financing parks and open-space acquisition for example, directly affect the size of a homeowner’s tax bill.  

Find out what's happening in Yorktown-Somerswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

As a result, despite the hike in their basic rate, most Yorktown homeowners will see their 2013 property tax rate go down, not up, Grace said during a review of the tentative budget last month. The town garbage-pickup district, for example, serves all Yorktown homes, though not businesses. It realized a one-time $800,000 savings by switching carters last month, which will cut every household’s refuse-collection bill by 13.4 percent.

A homeowner receiving water and sewer service would see an overall 2.5 percent cut in the rate next year. Even residents outside the water/sewer-district boundaries would see a tax-rate reduction, albeit less than quarter of a point.

Find out what's happening in Yorktown-Somerswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

To read our previous story on the adoption of the preliminary budget, click here.

The public hearing on the preliminary budget is tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall in Yorktown. The full tentative budget can be viewed online here.

Based on public comment, town board members will determine what, if any, revisions are appropriate and may adopt the final budget on Dec. 5 but no later than Dec. 20.

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