After a final public hearing last Friday, Ellenville officials approved a 2007-08 village budget totaling $3,627,106, a less-than 2% increase in spending over last year, according to Village Manager Elliott Auerbach. The vote was 3-1 with Trustee Steve Krulick supplying the only "nay" vote and Trustee Teresa Hyatt not in attendance for the meeting.

Taxpayers will see a rate increase of roughly $24 per thousand dollars on their current property tax bill. The increase will cost the average village taxpayer about $130 more this year than last. To put those numbers in perspective, the average village homeowner paid about $5,400 in taxes last year. This year, the tax levy on that property will go up roughly $24 x 5 (or the estimated $130).

Auerbach named fuel, insurance and retirement costs as areas that showed the largest increases, along with "a dramatic rise in health care costs." In addition, the manager also cited revenue streams that were less than predicted as the reason for the raise in taxes.

Village officials have increasingly been called upon to fund youth recreation programs and this year, both Family of Ellenville and the Community Action Agency asked for help from the village due to increased demands for services and decreases in their own funding.

Both will receive assistance from a $3,000 line item in the budget, but divided between them it will be less than the $3,000 each agency requested.

Recreation is a growing expense. "It's becoming a fourth component of government," Ellenville Mayor Jeff Kaplan said, "along with streets, water and sewer, and police."

Kaplan said the village spends $45,000 as its share of the Ellenville/Wawarsing Youth Commission recreation program. And although the Summer Feeding Program is supported with funds from the USDA, which provides lunch and snacks for income eligible families, the village spends $35,000 to $50,000 on its own summer recreation program.

"This component of the budget has continued to increase as the programs have offered more choices, and program costs in general have increased," Kaplan said.

Weeks of deliberations go into preparation of the budget, and it's a tough balancing act, providing needed services at a price taxpayers can afford.

"It's the hardest thing we do," Kaplan said of the choices that have to be made.

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