Village board approves 2023-2024 budget, removes proposed organizational chart first

The Northport Village 2023-2024 budget was approved by Mayor Donna Koch and the board of trustees at their January 3 meeting in Village Hall. The budget includes a 1.63% tax increase, which is below the New York State mandated tax cap and the lowest increase since 1999-2000.

Some expenditure highlights for the 2023-2024 Village budget include:

• Salary increases of 2.75% for all Village union workers, administrative staff, mayor and trustees, and PBA contracts.

• $350,000 for funding the Fire Department LOSAP (retirement fund).

• Funding for an additional police department vehicle, Village Hall improvements, 24-hour paramedic services, fire department equipment, an additional part-time code enforcement officer, and New York State pension system obligations.

• Funding for Village-wide street and park lighting modernization projects, and the completion of the Bluff Point Road sewer line hook-up project.

• Funding for Cow Harbor Park, Steers Park and general park improvements, including a new park maintenance facility.

• Renewal of the Refuse Collection Contract, with a 0% increase for the next two years.

Northport Village tax dollars are being spent as follows:

• General government support: $3,044,189

• Public safety (Police): $4,182,800

• Public safety (Fire): $2,335,549

• Public safety (Building Department, Meters and Traffic Control): $212,834

• Health: $1,000

• Transportation (Highway and Snow Removal): $1,797,253

• Economic Assistance and Opportunity: $10,000

• Culture and Community Service (Parks, Docks, Community Grants): $1,162,278

• Home and Community Service (Sewer): $6,032,481

• Home and Community Service (Drainage, Shade Trees, Boards): $158,133

• Home and Community Service (Refuse): $857,000

• Employee Benefits: $4,772,298

• Interfund Transfer: $1,283,802

• Debt Service: $139,347

Total appropriation: $25,988,964

While the budget did not elicit any questions or concerns in previous budget workshop meetings, a review of the final budget packet prior to the January 3 meeting caused some board members to take issue with an updated organizational chart, put together by Mayor Koch and others, tucked into the 43-page budget package.

Mayor Koch explained that some members thought the new chart required “a little looking at and tweaking” before it would be approved. The proposed reorganization ranked Assistant to the Mayor Donald Tesoriero and Village Clerk Georgina Cavagnaro in a higher tier than Village Administrator Roland Buzard and Treasurer Siobhan Costello. The organizational structure prior to the proposed reorganization has all four of these Village employees at equal rank (Tesoriero and Buzard in the same box), with no hierarchy among them.

The chart had also added “Advisory Councils and Committees,” a new category placed on the same tier as the mayor and board of trustees. Generally, council and committee members are appointed by the mayor, with no required input from the elected trustees.

Before the Village Board voted on the budget, they voted to pass a resolution amending the proposed budget packet by removing the updated organizational chart.

With the new organizational chart removed, the board voted unanimously to approve the 2023-2024 budget.

To read the entire adapted budget, click here.