Ogdensburg finalizes 2015 budget

OGDENSBURG — The Ogdensburg Borough Council finalized the 2015 budget with Chief Financial Officer Monica Goscicki on Monday, March 9.

The council will introduce the budget at 8 p.m. on March 12 in Borough Hall.

Goscicki said the amount to be raised for the 2015 budget is $2,146,560. She also said that when homeowners receive their tax bills, the rate would be the same as last year, thus, amounting to no tax increase

Officials then discussed the question of when to start increasing taxes a little over time in order to avoid problems in the future.

Ciasullo and Goscicki said Ogdensburg is in a wonderful position because the surplus has repeatedly gone up. Ciasullo further said taxes have not gone up for the past four years.

"What we've been doing has worked," Ciasullo said.

Typically when taxes are raised, the monehy will be used and will not go into surplus.

Goscicki told the council to keep its eye on the surplus. If the council sees it or the fund balance going down, it might be time to cut a budget item or raise taxes. “Ours [the surplus] has gone up, which is a great thing,” she said.

The surplus was at $670,000 at the end of 2013 and now is up to $782,000.

Ciasullo said that “for Ogdensburg, we're in better shape than ever.” For the last four years the borough has had a lean budget, brought in revenue, provided customary services, maintained the infrastructure, employees will receive 2 percent raises again, and new weapons will be purchased for the Police Dept.

He complimented the council for not raising taxes.

"I personally live here; and I love not getting my taxes raised," Ciasullo said. "I think we're doing the right thing. There are no negatives to it."

Heaters PondThe council unanimously resolved to allocate $29,600 to Cherry Weber and Associates to prepare an Alternatives Analysis Report for the rehabilitation of Heater Pond Dam. The analysis is in response to an unfunded mandate by the NJDEP (New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection) to fully armor the dam with concrete, remove the dam, or lower the water in the pond.

Ciasullo reiterated the need for the council to have input from the public. After officials receive the costs for the four different alternatives, a special meeting will be called for all Ogdensburg residents.