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Mayor seeks to build support for church deal
(by Sali McSherry - July 21, 2010)
Mayor seeks to build support for church deal
By SALI McSHERRY
For the past 15 years, Orange has saved inheritance-tax revenue for capital improvements, and now the village wants to purchase the former St. Margaret of Hungary Church, Mayor Kathy U. Mulcahy said last week. The village is not asking for a tax increase, she said.
The issue to buy the 11-acre property adjcent to Village Hall for $940,000 will be on the Nov. 2 ballot. The land would be used for a service center and addition to the community park.
Village Council voted 6-1 to approve placing it on the ballot, with Councilman Edward Bonk casting the lone dissenting vote.
By buying the former church, Ms. Mulcahy said, the village would save $1 million in construction costs and add at least 5 acres to the park. The village also would have the option of selling the property at the current service department's site, which would be ideal for two or three new homes when the real-estate market improves, she said.
She said she is concerned about the potential for confusion regarding a petition initiated by several residents to reduce the municipal income tax from 2 percent to 1.5 percent. That issue could be on the ballot in November 2011, if petitions are certified.
"We absolutely are not forecasting any tax increases that some other communities are asking of their residents, but we cannot afford to cut 25 percent of our income-tax revenue and maintain the superior municipal services that we enjoy," Ms. Mulcahy said.
Petitioner Jonathan Shanes said Orange residents are overtaxed and are seeking relief.
"As for what the petitioners are proposing," Ms. Mulcahy said, "the closest analogy would be somebody saying, 'We inherited enough money to put an addition on our house; let's go ask our boss for a pay cut.'"
The income tax, Ms. Mulcahy said, goes into a general fund and pays for services, including police, fire, snowplowing and recycling.
Unlike some other communities, Orange does not rely on inheritance taxes to pay for operations. While the revenue from estate taxes has been significant over the years, it does fluctuate from year to year. Under the village's budgeting philosophy, she said, Orange has saved the revenue from estate taxes for capital improvements, such as Village Hall, which was built in 1996. At that time, the village decided not to include an addition for the service department at the new hall due to budget constraints. It was thought at that time, Ms. Mulcahy said, that the village would build a service center at a later date.
The village pays its day-to-day operations under its consistent revenue streams such as income tax, she said, and makes capital improvements by using its "rainy-day fund." The two sources of money are not interchangeable, she said.
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