Warwick expects preliminary budget by Oct. 30

The town of Warwick is preparing its budget for the upcoming fiscal year and hopes to have a preliminary version ready by October 30, Warwick Town Supervisor Jesse Dwyer shared during the September 26 Warwick Town Board meeting. Part of this process includes the passing of a new local law, which occurred at the meeting, permitting the town to exceed the 2% tax cap, if needed. Dwyer explained that this is a standard procedure that occurs every year to ensure that the town is not penalized for overriding the tax cap. He emphasized that this is a precautionary measure and does not mean the tax cap will be exceeded.

“We’re going to do our best to stay at a very reasonable rate and provide the services that the town residents continue to expect every day,” said Dwyer.

Among the budgetary considerations the town is reviewing is a potential shared agreement with the villages of Florida, Warwick, and Greenwood Lake for the use of grant-writing and consulting firm, Millennium Strategies. Dwyer noted that the firm would be hired by the town and supported by each of the villages in some financial way.

“The board recognizes that the cost of running a government, running a business has skyrocketed and our revenues have decreased constantly from federal allotments and other sources and you’ve got to be creative to continue to pay for a lot of these infrastructure projects, and it seems that the only way that you can do that without putting the tax burden on the public is by finding grant sources,” said Dwyer, who added that while the town has been successful at receiving them, grants are becoming more competitive as more municipalities to try to get this funding.

Fines, revenue

Dwyer reported that illegally operating short-term rental violations amounted to $41,000 in fines since January 1. In addition, Dwyer reported that, in the month of August, the town’s community preservation fund received a total of $171,142, one of the strongest months on record, mainly due to the sale of Masker Orchard.

Parks

The long-anticipated bike/hike trail that will connect Cascade Lake Park with the Orange County Park at Hickory Hills will break ground within a month, Dwyer reported. He noted that after a lot of research, the project will be fully funded by the federal government.

Water/sewer

Residents of Pine Island will soon benefit from a new well that can yield a higher flow capacity than originally anticipated, Deputy Commissioner for Water and Sewer Matt McPherson shared during his report. He added that the sampling revealed that the water quality meets all New York State drinking water standards and that the next step was to submit that information to the Department of Health to have it approved for connection to the water system.

In addition, the Water and Sewer Department is continuing to its lead and copper service line inventory as required by the State Department of Health. The preliminary report, which will include data from both the public and private side of the water service, is due on October 16. However, McPherson said, the department will continue to gather information on this issue into next year. Dwyer commented that he has been working with the assessor’s office and others to gather maps, minutes and other data going back to the 1960s to identify the homes with potential lead service lines or to rule out those that don’t have this issue.

Road paving

Dwyer shared that he will be hosting a meeting next month with the local mayors, senator and assemblyman, along with the state Department of Transportation to get an update on the planned paving of Route 94 and 17A, which is expected to start at the beginning of next year. Dwyer noted that this is an extensive process that includes the potential for a roundabout at the intersection of 94 and County Route 1 near Ochs Orchard.

Other business

During the meeting, the town passed a new local law that prohibits individuals or entities from engaging in commercial activity on town property without written permission from the town board. Dwyer explained that, prior to this change, there was nothing explicitly in the town code that forbade people from operating commercial businesses on town property.