The Nelson Town Board this week approved its 2017 town budget, which will include a 20-cent tax rate increase for residents.
The $1.4 million budget includes $550,000 to be raised by taxes. The townwide tax rate will be $2.75 per every $1,000 of assessed value, a 20-cent increase (or 8 percent) increase over the $2.55 per $1,000 in 2016.
This is the second consecutive year in which taxes increased in Nelson. Last year, taxes went up 4 percent, or 11 cents per every $1,000 of assessed value.
Town Supervisor Roger Bradstreet said this year’s tax increase, same as last year, was necessary because the town needs to replace its highway equipment and truck fleet. “Highway is the most expensive part of the budget,” he said.
The final town budget was discussed at a public hearing on Nov. 10 and then approved unanimously by the board.
Copies of the 2017 town budget may be viewed online or in person at the town office, located at 4085 Nelson Road.
Also at the meeting, the board announced that it will enter into an inter-municipal agreement with the village of Cazenovia for emergency police response to the town office, which will be equipped with panic buttons. The IM agreement was the result of town officials having safety concerns after two recent incidents within the past two months where officials felt threatened, Bradstreet said. The Nelson town office already has surveillance cameras inside and outside of the building.
Bradstreet also announced at the meeting that the town is looking for a third member of the Board of Assessment Review (BAR) and asks anyone interested to contact the town office or any member of the town board. The BAR meets once a year during which it hears complaints from town residents who feel their assessments are unequal, excessive, unlawful or that their property is misclassified.
The Nelson BAR currently has only two members, and the town recently received a letter from Madison County urging it to appoint a third BAR member, Bradstreet said.