City's Rising Pension Costs Could Justify Increased Tax Levy

by Timothy W. Scee II
Special to Newzjunky.com
Published January 10, 2012

WATERTOWN, N.Y.  —  With several municipalities struggling to keep within the state’s 2 percent property tax cap, city officials say certain exclusions allow for the city to raise its tax levy without the need for override legislation. 

City Comptroller James E. Mills gave the City Council a presentation Monday evening to discuss the effects of the property tax cap, enacted in June 2011, on the city’s 2012-2013 budget. 

“The levy could be increased by 6.2 percent if (City Council) so chooses to without passing any overriding legislation to go above what the tax cap is allowing them to do,” Mr. Mills explained. “The tax cap legislation has certain exclusions within the legislation that allows for certain actions, like increases to pension costs, to be added above that 2 percent to cover that.”

Mr. Mills said one of those exceptions are pension costs for city employees which have risen substantially, even since 2002.

“We just paid our December payment of roughly $3.1 million,” he said. “When I started here nine years ago that bill was about $90.000.”

Another exclusion to the 2 percent property tax cap involves possible tort action settlements that total over 5 percent of the levy. 

Mr. Mills said the City Council would have to be approve overriding legislation shortly before the budget adoption.

“There is a series of three resolutions that adopts the budget, they could do that right a head of those three,” Mr. Mills said. 

In other business, the City Council discussed the potential hiring of a utilities manager who would provide oversight of the city’s waste water treatment, water treatment plant, hydroelectric and the water distribution plants. 

The position states the utilities manager would be in charge of accounts receivable for wastewater and water, have a say in facilities contracts, create operational budgets and review facilities. 

The position was aimed to replace former Water Superintendent Gary E. Pilon who retired last year.

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