At its current rate of growth, by next June the budgetary surplus will surpass the total amount to be raised by property taxes in the coming year's budget.

The tentative budget released last week estimates the village will have $869,500 in surplus funds at the close of the fiscal year on May 31. The surplus grew by almost 60 percent, or close to $320,000 in the current year. A year earlier, it increased by almost 45 percent as it passed the half million dollar mark.

The surge in the surplus is being driven by recent budgets which have underestimated revenues and overstated spending.

Mayor Wendell Tripp said it was not a matter of great concern to him and that having a surplus is a good idea.

The surplus allows the village to realize savings on interest charges by providing a source of no-interest loans, Tripp said.

The mayor also views the surplus as a safeguard, or contingency, in the event the village is hit with unforseen expenditures.

"If something goes wrong, we can use it up in a big hurry," he said. "We can spend $100,000 in the twinkling of an eye."

Tripp said he mentioned a couple of times to the trustees that the money could be used to fund street repairs. "We have to take another close look at village streets," he said.

Former mayor Harold Hollis initiated a program of street repairs in the 1980's and early 1990s and Tripp believes it may time to begin a new round of repairs.

According to budget, the village also has surpluses in the sewer and water fund which combined will total more than $460,000.

The New York State Comptroller's Office has no hard and fast rule about budgetary surpluses, but recommends they be kept as low as possible, according to spokesperson Jeffrey Gordon.

Gordon said municipalities should dedicate the surplus funds to specific purposes so taxpayers know what the money will be used for. That can be accomplished by establishing reserve funds, he said.

To answer fears of unexpected expenses, Gordon suggested that some of the money could even be set aside in a contingency reserve fund.

The village already has eleven dedicated reserve funds for everything from street equipment to the trolley system.

The street improvements included in the new budget will be paid for with funds from the street improvements reserve fund which is estimated to total more than $240,000 at the end of the fiscal year in May.

Almost $150,000 from the fire equipment reserve of $420,000 will be applied toward the purchase of a new fire truck this year.

And that still leaves more than $60,000 set aside for Doubleday Field; $57,812 for street equipment, $64,000 for the trolley and reserve funds for the sewer and water totaling more than $25,000.

Gordon said the Comptroller's Office would genereally like to see surpluses capped at 10 to 15 percent of the total budget.

In the case of the village, that would set a ceiling for the surplus between $420,000 to $630,000.