SARANAC LAKE – Residents of the town of Harrietstown could see a substantial increase in their town taxes next year.

The preliminary 2017 budget would increase the tax levy – the portion of the budget that comes from property taxes – by 11.5 percent, or $268,992, going from $2,332,769 to $2,601,761. Overall spending would increase 7 percent or $342,497, from $4,916,890 to $5,259,387.

These numbers could change before the town board adopts the budget in the next few weeks, but Supervisor Mike Kilroy didn’t sound too optimistic.

“We can fix it, to a point,” he said. “I would call this probably a worst-case scenario.”

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Tax rates

If the preliminary budget is approved as is, the tax rate for Harrietstown residents inside the village of Saranac Lake would increase from $1.45 per $1,000 of assessed property value to $1.66 per $1,000. That means the owner of a $150,000 home in the Harrietstown section of the village would pay $31 more in town taxes; the bill would go from $217.50 to $249.

The tax rate for Harrietstown residents outside the village would rise from $3.08 per $1,000 to $3.45 per $1,000. That means the owner of a $150,000 home outside the village limits would pay $55.50 more, with the bill going from $462 to $517.50.

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Spending increases

Some of the factors fueling the budget and tax levy increase include the town’s $40,000 first bond payment on recent renovations to the town hall. There’s also a $50,000 increase in debt service for new Highway Department trucks.

The town has budgeted $30,000 for the first of three payments on properties it has acquired from Franklin County to add to Dewey Mountain Recreation Center’s terrain. Plus, there’s another $30,000 to buy a new truck for Code Enforcement Officer Ed Randig.

The town is budgeting $225,000, an increase of $185,000, to pay off the rest of a loan it got to replace a retaining wall behind the town hall and the cost of a new handicapped-accessible ramp at Dewey. But Kilroy said the $225,000 should be offset by $270,000 the town has been promised by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to cover the retaining wall work.

“We’re supposed to get it by the end of the year,” he said. “The problem is I don’t know when it will come.”

Most town employees would get 3 percent raises. The pay for Kilroy and town board members would stay the same: $15,000 for the supervisor and $6,000 for each council member. Health insurance rates for town workers are expected to increase 8 percent.

Among other notable expenses, the town would increase its budget for Dewey by $10,000 to pave the center’s parking lot next year. An additional $12,000 has been allocated for work on the Rotary baseball field next to the Saranac Lake Civic Center. The town’s fire protection payment to the village of Saranac Lake has also increased $15,000.

In an effort to build up reserves, Kilroy said he’s not using as much fund balance reserve to reduce the tax levy: $75,000 next year as opposed to $100,000 or more in prior years.

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Airport revenue down

A drop in revenue at the town-owned Adirondack Regional Airport in Lake Clear also had a big impact on the budget for next year, Kilroy said. The town expected $210,000 in revenue from AvGas, which is mostly sold to Cape Air, but it had only made $132,100 as of September. For next year, it’s budgeting $175,000.

Revenue from fuel sales to private plane operators also took a nosedive. The town budgeted $1,080,000 but had only made $755,215 as of September. It’s cut the revenue forecast for next year to $960,000.

“The problem is, gas is too cheap,” Kilroy said. “As the cost of gas goes down, well, so does our revenue from that gas.”

The town board held a work session Tuesday, where the airport budget would be discussed, Kilroy said.

Tax cap override

The town would have to override the state’s tax cap to approve this budget. The state-mandated tax levy increase for the town next year is 0.41 percent, meaning the town could only increase its levy a maximum of $27,000 to stay within the cap.

“We don’t have much choice” about overriding the cap, Kilroy said.

The town board will host a public hearing at 4:45 p.m. Thursday on a resolution to override the tax cap. The regular hearing on the 2017 budget will take place at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3. All the meetings, including tonight’s work session, will take place in the board room on the first floor of the Harrietstown Town Hall, 39 Main St., Saranac Lake.