Editor, OBSERVER:

The proposed Fredonia budget is unsustainable. It will ensure that the village will have to go over the tax cap next year. The state tax cap will likely be 2% next year and the village will have no carry over to add to that.

The village is reducing the minimum fund balance requirement to 10% and using those funds $217,455, bringing the balance down to near the minimum. Knowing what the mandated and contractual costs are and expect insurance and regularly needed maintenance and supply costs to have increases.

They are adding a number of employees and giving raises greater than 2%. Neither should happen this year, as a matter of fact they should layoff a couple employees. What they are doing with the code enforcement department is absurdly expensive adding more than $100,000 in employee costs to that department. Then there are the village clerk and treasurer who will be receiving pay increases at excessively high levels higher than any other employee in the village and giving them more hours to base their pay on. There is no requirement to give any department head or non-union employee raises or longevity pay, it can always be adjusted.

This is with the understanding of the limited places in the village budget where cuts can be made to stay within the state tax cap, this year of 3.1%.

Travel expenses can be removed for the clerk, treasurer, trustees, and lowered for the mayor.

They have unjustifiable revenue increases based on what has currently been received, particularly in the fire department. They say it is slow coming in, isn’t that what Dunkirk said and now look at the mess they are in. The village bond rating is likely to take a hit, over the tax cap is over the cap 9% or 19% it’s still over.

So much for the General Fund, then there is the Water Fund where they raised rates just a few weeks ago and now in the new budget they are increasing the per-thousand rate and adding more to the base fee, neither were necessary at this time.

And the Sewer Fund where they needlessly raised both the rate per-thousand and the base fee even though they have a department fund balance beyond the top 25% fund balance village policy.

Millions of dollars have been invested in upgrades and maintenance in both the water and sewer treatment plants over the last eight years and more needs to be done but it is not necessary to gouge the residents to address the needs. A reasonable budget within the tax cap is possible and sensible.

JAMES LYNDEN,

Former trustee,

Fredonia