A question was posed to us the other day that we thought we would share. It’s probably something a few of you have been wondering about too.
Can The Town Increase Village Residents Contribution?
Typical village residents pay about 2% of their annual property tax bill to the Town of Greenburgh, with the bulk going to their school district and villages as well as Westchester County.
How was it determined that the villages only pay 2% [toward] Greenburgh taxes? If they were to pay just 3% or 4 % would it alleviate the gap should Edgemont incorporate? If this percentage was raised the total amount these individuals would be taxed may not necessarily increase if the money was distributed more equitably.
We realize this might be quite difficult to change legally and or politically, but are wondering if it could be a feasible option to look into.
Response from Our Financial Expert
Raising the tax mill rate to the village residents for Town-Entire (TE) services would do nothing to close the estimated $17.5 million funding gap discussed at last week’s meeting. The incorporation by Edgemont would only affect the Town Outside Villages (TOV) fund as they would continue supporting the TE fund whether the referendum for incorporation is successful or defeated.
By way of background, the TE fund support services that benefit both the residents in the villages and the unincorporated area of the Town of Greenburgh. Most of the appropriations are for support functions such as the supervisor’s office, town board, town court, town attorney, assessor’s office, advanced life support services, and the SWAT team supported by the police department. Residents in the villages and in the unincorporated area pay into the TE fund. The total appropriations and non-property tax revenues are budgeted with any shortfall funded through property taxes and/or drawing on the fund balance. All town residents receive a bill for these services proportionate to their assessed values, which is approximately 2% of the total tax bill as you had pointed out. Village residents receive a bill separately from the village to fund municipal services such as police, sanitation, snow removal, library, parks and recreation, and other resident facing services. The Town of Greenburgh does not provide these services to these residents. Unincorporated area residents receive separate tax bills to cover the TOV fund for similar client facing municipal services.