COVID problems pushing Peekskill to possibly exceed budget tax cap, increase taxes – The Journal News

PEEKSKILL The owner of an average single-family home would see property taxes rise by$83.44 next year if the cityvotes to exceed the tax cap.

That's based ona home with an equalized assessed value of $310,000, according to the city assessor's office.

Blaming the COVID-19 pandemic for a revenue decline, officials are considering pushing abovethe state tax cap to support aproposed2021 city budget.

The economic impact of the coronavirus has been compared to the Great Depression, City Manager Andy Stewart said in his budget messageto the public. Its extraordinary effects on families and businesses are equaled in its impacts on local government budgets, which have suffered terribly, imperiling our ability to provide essential services.

The Common Council is scheduled to vote Monday night on whether to approve a local law to raise thelevy above the state cap and to vote on the proposed$63.3 million municipal budget, up$309,000from this year. By state law, the city must adopt a budget by Dec. 1.

Peekskill City Hall(Photo: File photo/The Journal News)

Abudgetwithinthestate cap would be limited to a $200,000 levy increase, or a 0.67% tax rate rise, Stewart said. Peekskills revenue isprojected to drop by millions for 2020 largely due to COVID's effects, the budget message said, so the councilis considering raising thetax rateby2.79%for a 3.46% overall increase.

Revenue has dropped significantly amid COVID-19, Stewart said,citing:

Peekskill City Manager Andy Stewart(Photo: Submitted)

The 2021 budget proposal includes cuts of 5% to 12% to the city's departments, mostly by eliminating overtime and not filling vacancies, according to the budget message. Five vacant positions are eliminated, saving about $425,000. Thebudget plan also calls for using no more than $1 million from the"rainy day fund" fund balance to help balance the budget.

At the end of this year, Peekskill's fund balance is project at $4.3 million.

REVITALIZATION:Peekskill recommends 19 projects for potential funding under $10 million revitalization grant

PEEKSKILL:Condos, apartments secure city approval near downtown and riverfront

TRANSFORMATION:Peekskill experiences growing pains as change comes quickly

"Unfortunately, the global coronavirus pandemic that began this past spring and continues today means 2020 and 2021 are the proverbial 'rain days'for which previous administrations have been saving up reserve funds,"the budget message said.

In mid-June, the council approved just more than $1 million in cuts to the already-adopted current-year budget. Stewart's messagesaid those froze most vacant positions, eliminated overtime spending for non-emergencies, canceled recreational programming, and shelved thehiring of dozens of part-time workers. The city also applied $500,000 of fund balance to help balance the budget

The difficult financesblamed on COVID-19 comeafter Peekskill has experienced largely positive newsin recent years in theform of developers'interest, and a burgeoning restaurant and nightlife scene. It's seena wave of newapartments built, under construction or proposed that are geared to millennials leaving New York City and empty-nesters looking to downsize for amore walkable lifestyle.

The city also has a necklace ofriverfront parks with walking and bike paths, a restaurant and entertainment scene and saw the recent relocation here of ahigh-tech manufacturer from the San Francisco Bay area.

Michael McKinney covers northern Westchester.Follow him on Twitter@mikemckwrite.

Read or Share this story: https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/peekskill/2020/11/20/peekskill-taxes-increase-tax-cap-covid-problems/6355678002/

See the original post here:
COVID problems pushing Peekskill to possibly exceed budget tax cap, increase taxes - The Journal News