Sleepy Hollow property tax hike could appear on 2016 ballot

Sleepy Hollow residents could see yet another question about a tax hike on the ballot next spring.

Village President Stephan Pickett said the village's finance committee might soon recommend another referendum that would raise property taxes for the bedroom community's more than 3,300 residents.

But by how much?

"That's the question that's being debated again," Pickett said Wednesday. "That's part of the finance committee's homework at this point."

The finance committee will meet later this summer, Pickett said, and if a recommendation moves forward, the village board would vote on the issue by early fall. If approved, the question would appear on the spring 2016 ballot, he said.

This would be Sleepy Hollow's third attempt to raise property tax rates over the past two years. Last April, about 85 percent of voters shot down a tax increase that asked for a nearly 82 percent property tax hike. With that proposed increase, the village would have collected an additional $428,571 annually from its residents.

A similar request was denied by voters last November.

This time around, the village might take on a different approach, Pickett said.

"Is there another number that could be better accepted by the constituents, the residents of Sleepy Hollow? Is there a better way of delivering the message?" he said. "That's what we're waiting on."

Village officials are hoping to use the additional revenue in their five-year capital fund. Money in that account is used for long-term expenses, such as purchasing new squad cars, dump trucks, snowplows and lawn mowers, or for building maintenance.

The village began the 2016 fiscal year, which started June 1, with $284,576 in its capital fund, Pickett said. By the end of the fiscal year, the village projects a balance of about $183,800.

Within two to three years, those funds will be depleted, Pickett said.

"Now where do we go?" he said. "We won't have any money set aside for a new snowplow, a new squad car. We'll have to deal with what we've got."

In the meantime, Sleepy Hollow has tried various cost-saving methods to trim expenses, Pickett said. Instead of contracting out a company, the village is landscaping in-house. Only one part-timer was hired in public works, though two are typically hired over the summer. Lawns and courts are only cut every other week, rather than every week.

"We're constantly watching those little things that come through that we're taking into a different light now," he said.