The COVID-19 virus has affected all parts of life, including the budget process for the Village of Maybrook. The village board will hold a public hearing on its 2020-21 tentative budget Mon., April 13. What form that hearing will take, given virus restrictions, is still up in the air.

This tentative budget totals $3,906,428, including appropriations of $2,653,981 for the general fund, $358,943 for the water fund, $634,777 for the sewer fund and $248,727 for the refuse fund.

Subtracting projected revenues, that leaves a total tax levy of $1,883,776, carrying a projected tax rate of $16.22 per $1,000 per assessed valuation for village property owners in the Town of Montgomery and $9.89 for Town of Hamptonburgh property owners in the village. Most villagers live in the Town of Montgomery. Those rates represent an increase of 84 cents over the 2019-20 rate in the Town of Montgomery and a decrease of 14 cents for Town of Hamptonburgh.

The tentative budget would have been revised at a Mar. 16 budget workshop. But that meeting was canceled because of the virus restrictions. Facing a Mar. 20 state deadline to file a tentative budget, the village board was forced to file the rough draft budget document as the official tentative budget. Mayor Dennis Leahy stressed that this tentative budget is subject to cuts at the April 13 hearing.

“The board has recommended several different cuts,” he said, “which will be addressed at the hearing. I have had contact (by phone) with all board members and they have offered budget cuts, including in wage increases.”

The budget includes an approximate 57 percent salary increase for the mayor (from $13,392.93 to $20,000) and approximate two percent increases for most employees. The mayor’s salary increase was proposed by the other board members but is expected to be cut during Monday’s public hearing.

The budget also includes two new police patrol cars and a new truck for Public Works; all three vehicles will be leased for five years with options to buy at the end of the lease period.

Linda Amodio, frequent poster in a village politics on-line group, noted her disappointment at what she calls the “lack of transparency” regarding the budget process and tentative budget availability.

“We are in a pandemic and not supposed to go out,” she said. “And yet they want people to get a copy of the budget at the Govt. Center?”

She said the tentative budget should have been placed on-line. Amodio also criticized the tentative budget figures, especially the tentative salary increase for the mayor.

“In these times, people can’t pay these taxes,” she said. “The mayor does work a lot of hours and he does do a lot but he’ll be the highest paid mayor of the villages in the Town of Montgomery and he has the least number of residents, the least number of employees and the smallest tax base.”

Leahy said the village is looking into its options to conduct Monday’s public hearing. Residents can also email the village clerk with their budget comments or send a letter.

Copies of the tentative budget are available at the village Govt. Center by appointment only. Contact Village Clerk Tina Johnson, 427-2717 ext. 201 or email her at vjohnson@villageofmaybrook.com to set up an appointment.