Last Tuesday, the Montgomery Village Board adopted the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which will run from June 1, 2020-May 31, 2021.

The Village will boast a total fund of $5,844,203 for the upcoming fiscal year, which is a slight increase from this year’s total which was $5,764,190. A total of $4,879,372 will go towards the general fund with $423,585 being allocated to the water fund and $541,246 going into the sewer fund.

The tax rate for the upcoming year is $16.07 which equates to a real estate tax levy of $2,956,699. This increased from this year’s total, as the tax rate was $15.75 and the real estate tax levy was $2,923,432. The assessed value of the properties in the Village is $183,976,829.

Appropriations for the general government remained mostly stagnant from last year. The budget for the Board of Trustees remained at $39,061, which was unchanged from last year. The deputy mayor will make $10,828 and the three trustees will each make $9,411. Like the Board of Trustees, Mayor Stephen Brescia will earn the same salary as last year, which is $14,485.

“In this economy, it’s in good conscious not to take raises,” Brescia said.

One of the largest decreases in next year’s budget is the contractual fund in the finance budget. There was $45,000 budgeted in this year’s budget and only $30,000 in this year’s fund because of an audit. The shared services fund decreased from $172,500 to $164,500 in next year’s fiscal budget. This is because revenue is going toward a new heating system at village hall.

The Village Police Department had several important changes to their budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Their contractual budget decreased from $42,201 to $26,745 next year. This is because of the 700 MHz radio system that the county is offering, which eliminated the village police department’s payment for the radio system they used to have. The equipment budget improved from $45,166 to $48,828. This increased funding is intended to be used to purchase nine new tasers and body cameras.

“I believe that body cameras are an essential part of policing these days,” Chief of Police William Herlihy said. “They assist the police with a lot of misrepresentations or misclaims against us.”

Funding for supplies also increased from $44,125 to $46,175 to cover the cost of uniforms if they hire a new officer.

Herlihy also wants to bring back foot and bicycle patrols for June-September.

“I believe that the village residents would like to see not just the police car driving by but the interaction with a police officer get to know who the police officers are, have communication lines with them,” he said. “That way they won’t feel so afraid maybe to reach out to the police department.”

Mayor Stephen Brescia noted that he still plans to hold General Montgomery Day on Sept. 10. The Village Board makes good money from the event, hauling in about $13,900 last year.

“I think General Montgomery Day is an essential activity,” he said. “We’ll know more when we get closer, to see how this coronavirus works out. People are certainly going to be looking forward to General Montgomery Day after this doomsday that we are going through right now.”