Tully (WSYR-TV) - While other towns and villages are struggling to stay afloat, especially in Onondaga County, the Village of Tully is making a surprising move. Wednesday, they unveiled a new budget that actually cuts taxes. The move is even more unlikely when you consider that many local governments stand to lose a big source of income when the county changes the sales tax revenue sharing scheme.
The village has a great track record of saving money by sharing services with the Town of Tully. The two governments have shared the same building for most of 20 years. Now, they're taking it another step farther.
The new village budget cuts taxes by more than 6%. To do that, took a variety of changes: They put an accountant on contract, which allows one part-time clerk to do the job that two part-timers once did. They found cheaper health coverage for employees. DPW workers also took a pay freeze, and village board members cut their own pay in half. "Times have been difficult for many people. Fiscally, we are a very small village. We have a very small tax base. Many people are on fixed incomes. We really worked to make sure we were being absolutely as efficient as possible," said Mayor Beth Greenwood.
The Mayor also says there were a lot of little changes that helped. "We do our stationery differently now than we used to. We just have the letterhead on the computer to print out rather than buying separate letterhead. The DPW uniforms are laundered in different numbers than before, which was a bit of a savings."
Hundreds of line by line government efficiencies may not be noticed by people who live here, but they will notice that 6% tax cut. It'll be a savings of about $40 a year for the average homeowner.
Tully's mayor cautions against expecting another tax cut next year. With the likely reduction in sales tax revenue, she says it will be more difficult to keep property taxes down in future years. The hearing on the new village budget, which does contain that 6% cut, was held Wednesday evening at Tully's Municipal Building.
