Villages and towns throughout the Southern Tier are looking to settle their budgets as the state deadline quickly approaches. The village of Endicott is currently facing a deficit of over $2 million. Mayor John Bertoni says the maximum tax levy this year will be five percent, but he’d like to have that level be closer to last year’s mark at 1.7 percent. Bertoni says that while the village did make cuts, they were able to make up a large amount of their deficit through early retirements. The board is expected to announce a public hearing for April 9th.
In Johnson City, the village is facing a budget gap of closer to $10 million. According to Johnson City’s current proposed budget, residents’ property taxes would be increasing by almost ten percent, a number that is expected to shrink as the May 1st budget deadline approaches. The next public hearing for the Johnson City budget is scheduled for April 16th.
