BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA -- Mayor Greg Paquin has released his proposed budget, which comes in just under the 2% tax cap by a $200 margin.

Paquin presented the proposed budget during a special meeting on April 9, detailing the many challenges the village faces as they attempt to keep taxes as low as possible while maintaining services for residents.

Under the proposed budget, the tax rate will rise 34 cents per $1,000 in assessed value, rising to $17.470138 per $1,000 in assessed value.

The tax levy would rise to $6,449,509 and increase by 3.5% over the previous year.

When discussing property assessments, Paquin noted that taxable property value has slowly but steadily climbed since 2018-2019.

"I wish I could sit here and tell you exactly why that continues to go up. We have some new buildings and such but it's been steadily on the climb," he said.

That increase places a key role in the tax cap calculations, he said.

According to Kevin Felt, factors such as the tax base growth factor and allowable levy growth factor play a role in driving down the tax rate to just below the 2% cap.

While taxpayers want to see a 0% levy, Paquin said that can create problems down the road.

"It's nice to do but a lot of times you're just pushing stuff down the road. It doesn't allow you to build the fund balance and such for rainy days. It looks good on paper but sometimes it makes it tougher down the road," Paquin said.

Paquin also touched on the challenges the village has faced in recent years, from equipment repairs and purchases to infrastructure repairs and redevelopment. Among the new equipment the village has purchased are a new fire truck, ambulance and multiple dump trucks for the Department of Public Works, he said.

Despite that, Paquin said the village fund balance sits at $3,072,086 compared to a projection of $2.48 million.

That has allowed the village to use an appropriated fund balance of $494,292 to stay just under the tax cap.

While that may be nice to save taxpayers money this year, Paquin said using funds like that in the future simply isn't sustainable.

"We can't keep doing that year after year. At some point we need to lower our expenses and find alternative revenue sources," he said.

Among those revenue sources is the sale of $300,000 of water to Air Products, a green hydrogen production facility that is being built on Pontoon Bridge Road.

Paquin said that revenue will help in the future but will not do enough to offset other rising costs.

"As you can see, our water and sewer funds are in the negative. We continue to lose money. I know that we have some of the lowest rates in the county but at some point we will likely have to up those rates," he said.

Paquin said that he has had discussions with department heads to "come up with new ways to save, new ways to think of doing business."

"They're aware of that. The budgets that you've seen, as I've said, it's a pretty bare bones budget that doesn't have a bunch of bells and whistles."

Paquin did note that refuse funds do continue to outpace expenses but future rate hikes by the county may impact that in the near future.

"Those are things that, you know, we're going to have to continue to address. It's something that the county really needs, to start working with DANC (Development Authority of the North Country) to come up with solutions to keep these towns (involved)," Paquin said.

He commented that if rates continue to rise municipalities will begin to leave the program because they would not be able to afford to participate any longer.

"It's something the county really needs to take a look at to find a way to save money," he said.

Paquin was also critical of contributions to the Joint Recreation Department, noting that the village and town of Massena were to contribute equally to the department.

However that isn't the case, he said.

"If you look at joint rec, we contribute the most followed by NYPA (New York Power Authority) and then the town," he said.

Paquin said that Joint Recreation was not seeking new equipment or to work on new projects, however that funding model was also not entirely sustainable for the village.

"They had a pretty healthy fund balance, so we're OK in that regard, but there is a sizable contribution from the Power Authority. It's a matter of fact, we are the largest contributor to the Joint Rec Department, followed by the Power Authority and then the town.

Worker's Compensation also weighs heavily on the budget, Paquin said.

For 2024-25, Worker's Compensation will rise to $337,512, an increase of $86,000 compared to the previous fiscal year.

Despite efforts to switch from the county program, Paquin said those efforts would be wasted due to the cost to pay off trailing liabilities.

Those expenses, pushing over $2.3 million, would mean the village would have to bond for the liabilities, costing the village over $600,000 per year for five years.

"We simply can't afford that. It comes down to the county again to address that issue," he said.

Paquin said that "anchor communities" like Canton, Gouverneur, Massena, Ogdensburg and Potsdam bear the brunt of the expense despite offering services that other, smaller communities are unable to offer, such as municipal police departments and paid professional fire department drivers.

Despite those offsetting services that free up county assets, Paquin said they still pay the lion's share of the expense.

"It's a lot, there is no denying that," Paquin said.

Of the key budget highlights, Paquin said that the village will be able to maintain all services for residents with a minimal tax rate hike.

The budget is also very light on equipment as the village has worked to replace aging equipment, he said.

"The new fire truck, ambulance, hydro excavator and updated fleets will reduce costs over time," he said.

Sales tax projections remain the same as last year, he said. That projection is flat due to limited data to potentially raise or lower the figure.

"Right now we only have the first two quarters of sales tax figures. We are 4.7% off our projections for the last budget, so we feel pretty confident in remaining flat," Treasurer Kevin Felt said.

Upgrades will also be needed to the water treatment facility, along with future development that may include a new line and new pumps.

Ongoing discussions with Air Products may lead to those upgrades in the near future, Paquin said.

"Overall, it's a bare bones budget that still maintains our services for taxpayers. So, we're going to start with that," Paquin said.

Budget workshops will begin April 10, at 5 p.m. Budget proposals from the Code Enforcement Office, Massena Fire Department, Massena Rescue Squad and Massena Senior Citizens will be heard that day.

On April 11, trustees will hear budget proposals from the Department of Public Works, Massena Police Department and the treasurer. That meeting will also be held at 5 p.m.

On April 16, trustees will hear proposals from the Massena Joint Recreation Commission beginning at 5 p.m. The board’s regular monthly meeting will follow immediately afterward.

If all goes according to plan, trustees should be able to adopt the budget during the April 16 regular board meeting, Paquin said. If some details linger, an additional session will be held April 18 at 5 p.m., after which trustees will possibly adopt the budget. The budget must be adopted by May, officials say.