NEW
BERLIN
–
The
Village
of
New
Berlin
voted
last
week
to
approve
a
budget
that
would
keep
property
taxes
below
the
2
percent
tax
cap.
According
to
Village
of
New
Berlin
Mayor
Peter
Lennon,
contributing
factors
this
year
included
increases
in
insurance,
fuel
and
utilities.
“Insurance
costs
increased
5.5
percent
for
village.”
Lennon
explained.
The
EMS
and
fire
department
insurance
costs
are
separate
from
those
referenced
by
Lennon,
primarily
because
the
EMS
has
to
be
a
self-sustaining
system.
Fuel
costs
this
year
have
already
increased
by
30-35
percent.
“No
one
knows
what
that
will
be,”
Lennon
said,
explaining
that
in
addition
to
regular
fuel
costs,
the
increase
impacts
asphalt
for
paving
and
heating
fuel
costs
as
well,
creating
several
unknowns
within
the
budget.
Utility
costs
have
also
impacted
the
village.
“Everyone’s
NYSEG
bills
have
been
going
up.
That
has
had
a
significant
impact
on
the
village
as
well,”
Lennon
explained.
Other
significant
factors
to
the
budget
include
a
bump
of
about
4
percent
in
the
Department
of
Public
Works
Budget.
Lennon
explained
that
many
of
the
DPW
crew
are
working
on
additional
certifications
in
water
treatment
and
repair.
“Those
things
make
them
more
desirable
to
other
communities
and
we
need
to
offer
incentives
to
keep
them
in
the
village.”
Story Continues Below Adverts
With
so
many
uncontrollable
increases,
Lennon
explained
that
the
village
had
to
tighten
the
belt
in
many
areas
to
keep
the
budget
under
the
2
percent
tax
cap.
He
explained
that
the
village
has
restructured
the
front
office
and
adjust
contract
hours
to
lower
resource
expenses.
In
addition,
he
said
collaboration
with
the
New
Berlin
Cultural
Center
has
cut
down
on
the
expense
for
many
village
events,
such
as
the
annual
Christmas
Tree
Lighting
and
Easter
Egg
Hunt.
“Sharing
resources
with
the
New
Berlin
Cultural
Center
has
cut
down
on
expenses
for
those
village
events.
It’s
a
great
partnership,”
Lennon
said.
Lennon
explained
that
there
have
been
small
increases
in
property
values,
and
sales
tax
received
from
the
county.
“There’s
been
some
good
news.
It’s
not
a
huge
spike,
but
at
least
we’re
not
moving
in
the
wrong
direction.”
Lennon
commended
the
work
of
the
board
of
trustees.
“They
understood
that
this
year
especially,
we
couldn’t
have
our
hands
out
for
everything.
They
developed
compromises
and
gave
real
scrutiny
to
every
item.”
The
mayor
said
that
he
and
some
of
the
board
members
have
donated
back
the
stipend
they
receive
for
their
services
over
the
years
or
used
it
to
for
village
beautification
or
the
youth
fund.
While
many
years
the
village
is
able
to
put
some
money
into
the
reserve
fund,
Lennon
said
this
year’s
budget
will
not
allow
them
to
do
so.
Moving
forward,
Lennon
said
the
village
will
look
at
every
opportunity
to
partner
with
other
municipalities
and
with
organizations
within
the
community.
“We
don’t
have
a
lot
of
cushion
to
work
with.
We
plan
to
pool
our
resources
as
best
as
we
can,”
said
the
mayor.