OBSERVER Photo by Jo Ward Fredonia Mayor Doug Essek

Fredonia Mayor Doug Essek has reconsidered his first budget proposal, which included a 17% tax increase.

In his new proposal announced during a special Village Board meeting Friday, he is still looking to increase taxes minimally while also using some of the $1.9 million the village is expected to receive from the second COVID relief package passed in Washington earlier this month.

“I still think that having a small tax increase is something we should look at, since we haven’t seen an increase since 2015, but the current 17% proposed will certainly be mitigated with these corrected measures,” Essek said. “This is up to the trustees to decide.”

For this to happen, however, he made a plea for a team effort. That plan includes a resolution by the trustees to waive the village’s minimum fund balance policy to assist with this year’s gap in the budget.

“Information concerning the Local Aid in the American Rescue Plan of 2021 has been made available recently,” Essek said. “Guidelines for the Use of Funds, section C, is a provision that allows the use of funds to the extent of the reduction in revenues seen due to COVID-19. The reduction in revenues is calculated by comparing current revenues to the most recent full fiscal year. The use of the stimulus money can replace these lost revenues.

“In our case we saw $459,350 in reduced revenues from the prior fiscal year as a result of COVID-19. If we can reduce the reserve by this amount and then use the relief funds that we will see at a later date, to fill up the reserve, this will pretty much take care of the budget gap that we have in the current year.”

Essek admitted he has heard plenty of criticism since unveiling the first plan on Monday. He called the revised proposal “in the best interest of the citizens of Fredonia.”

The mayor’s proposed budget for 2021-22 totals $10,845,632, a $454,707 increase over last year’s budget of $10,390,945 — or roughly a 4.3% increase.

“Let’s battle the budget together, not each other and get this fixed,” Essek said.

Village trustees begin working on the full proposal in workshops on Tuesday.