GHENT TAXES DECREASE
Mike McCagg
ccSCOOP News
While their neighbors to the north are facing a dramatic 29 percent tax increase, Ghent taxpayers will see their taxes decrease slightly this year.
Supervisor Larry Andrews said the overall budget is increasing 0.35 percent, up to $1.94 million, and the tax levy is decreasing .01 percent or $3,765, down to $502,440.
"I tried very hard to keep it the same from year to year in terms of the amount to be raised by taxes (tax levy)," the longtime supervisor said.
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Achieving this meant cutting back wherever possible and utilizing unreserved fund balances. Among the areas of saving identified in the budget is spending on the townwide property reevaluation, which is coming to a conclusion this year.
While the general fund portions of the budget are decreasing a combined $13,600 from 2008 to 2009, spending on the highway department is increasing $9,800. "That's really reflective of the rising costs of fuel and so on," said Andrews.
Meanwhile, the neighboring towns of Chatham and Kinderhook face much more dramatic increases in highway spending—Kinderhook's highway budget is increasing by $88,000 and Chatham's by $400,000. Both towns also realizing dramatic tax increases—Chatham's taxes are jumping 29 percent and Kinderhook's nearly 50 percent.
"I think we are in better shape because we have eighty-plus miles of roads and only about eight are unpaved. It's much cheaper to take care of paved roads than unpaved roads," Andrews said.
Ghent’s property re-evaluation resulted in property owners receiving increased property assessments this year, which makes comparing the 2008 and 2009 property tax rates extremely difficult, Andrews said.
The 2009 tax rate for the majority of the town is $0.94 per $1,000 assessed property value, down from $1.70 this year. For the portion of the town that includes a section of the Village of Chatham, the tax rate is $0.72 per $1,000 assessed property value, down from $1.52 in 2008.
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