COLLINS - The town of Collins has released its annual budget. The total budget has seen a decrease of four cents in the tax rate.
The tax rate for the town is 19.63 per thousand. While this is the total tax rate, there is no fixed rate in the town. Residents will have different tax rates based on what water district they live in. The total budget is $2,859,037.42 with $1,152,250.24 to be raised by taxes. Other notable changes in the budget include a 1.5 percent increase in salaries for the town clerk, budget officer and highway superintendent - the first in two years. Other changes included an increase for retirement and cuts to building costs, and an elimination of a position.
"We eliminated the clerk for the assessor," Supervisor David Tessmer said.
Retirement costs increased to $53,000 to $49,000. Another notable change is in the water department. A decrease in employees in the department went from 1.5 people down to one person.
"(Water Superintendent) Matt (Wurst) really helped us fine tune the (water) budget this year," Tessmer said. Also in the new year, residents who have not paid their water bills will see a 40 percent late fee attached to the bill in March. The Collins Fire District also saw a 2 percent increase with the Rosenberg Fire District seeing a 1 percent increase.
Prior to adopting the budget, the town held a public hearing which saw no public comment. The town also approved the use of a trail through the town park by Southern Tier Sno Drifters, the 2011 town justices audit report.
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