OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford Fredonia Village Board.

Fredonia Mayor Douglas Essek has proposed a 2023-24 village budget that would contain a 1.97% tax increase.

Essek called the proposed tax hike “reasonable” and “in line with current inflation costs,” while presenting his spending plan at Monday’s Board of Trustees meeting. The draft budget would be a hike from $36.18 per $1,000 of assessed valuation in the current budget to $36.95 — an increase of 77 cents.

He stated, “In addition to contractual increases every year, this year had substantial additional increases due to inflation and the cost of supplies.”

The total budget, as proposed by the mayor, is $11,419,374. That represents a $115,598 increase over the current budget. The general fund totals $7,149,822, the water fund is $2,037,087 and the sewer fund is $2,232,465.

A total of $1,363,454 was cut from the general fund over the 2022-23 budget. The water fund saw a slice of $117,000, and the sewer fund slashed $313,950.