OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Cassadaga Village Clerk Annette McChesney, right, is pictured alongside Deputy Clerk Roxanne Astry. McChesney presented the 2024-2025 Village Budget at a recent meeting of the Village Board.

CASSADAGA — Even a slight decrease in taxes will never be bad news for residents. The village has delivered just that.

The proposed 2024-25 budget for the village of Cassadaga shows a slight decrease in the tax rate from a year ago. The current operating budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year held a tax rate of $3.26 per thousand dollars of assessed property value, but for 2024-25, the Village knocked two cents off the figure for a rate of $3.24 per thousand.

The Tax Levy Limit for the fiscal year 2025 is $146,648 in the village. The total assessed value in the village is $44,139,137, which is an increase of $625,459 from the previous year.

After Village Clerk Annette McChesney presented the Village Board with several iterations of the proposed budget, the Board decided to propose the rate of $3.24 per thousand for a Tax Levy of $143,010.80. Those figures kept the Village under the tax cap limit, while also allowing for allocation of $10,000 each for the Department of Public Works and for the Cassadaga Fire Department. The Village’s tax levy for the 2024-25 budget represents a decrease of $1,156.25 from the previous year.

The Water Fund budget was also discussed by the Village Board. After raising the cost to $6.25 per thousand gallons of consumption a year ago, the Village will remain at the $6.25 per thousand figure moving forward into the next fiscal year, for an estimated revenue of $285,300 and appropriations of $314,200.50.

After approving the proposed figures, the Board later approved a financial statement that showed balances of $347,490.40 in the General Fund and $110,605.98 in the Water Fund as of March 27. The Fire Department Equipment Reserve Fund holds $20,959; the Department of Public Works Equipment Reserve Fund holds $12,478.23; and the Village’s Reserve for Debt Service Fund holds $339,216.86.

The Public Hearing for residents to discuss the upcoming fiscal year’s proposed budget is set to begin the next regular meeting of the Village Board, Wednesday, April 10, at 7 p.m. at the Cassadaga Village Fire Hall.