The board of trustees adopted the first budget in ten years which calls for a tax increase during its annual Inspection Day meeting Thursday morning.

The new budget will hike the tax rate by 50 cents per thousand dollars of assessed value.

That means a homeowner whose residence has a $100,000 assessed value would receive a tax bill that is $50 higher than last year, according to Village Treasurer Joan Crippen.

Mayor Carol Waller commented earlier this month that the increase in taxes is being driven by anticipated capital investments in the village's infrastructure, including the streets, sewer and water systems. "With all our infrastructure needs, we have to start getting our money in order so we can get our house in order," she said. "We tried to hold it as close as we could, but we can't deplete all our reserves. We can't just do Main Street, we have to move to the others."

The board, she said, is trying to plan ahead now in an effort to avoid hitting residents with a big increase.

Prior to adopting the budget, Trustee Stu Taugher questioned some appropriations.

One of those he targeted was the $1,000 in the general fund for retention and recruitment of Fire Department members.

"I disagree, if they need money for retention we should give it to them," Waller said.

Taugher said he was concerned about the department trying to purchase parade uniforms with some of the money.

The money was left in the budget.

Taugher questioned the amount being spent on caretakers and lifeguards for the parks. Last year $24,000 was budgeted, but the village spent almost $12,000 more. This year $34,000 is set aside.

Trustee Lee Malone said that in the past the village's low pay scale meant they ended up with employees who didn't get hired elsewhere. "We got what was left over," she said. "Last year we paid decent wages and had wonderful parks. It was worth every penny of it."

Taugher also took the opportunity to point out to trustees that last year the village spent $15,000 on conferences and dues.

Much of the remainder of the new budget is relatively unchanged from the previous year. General fund appropriations dropped by almost a quarter of a millions dollars, but Crippen said much of that is because of a change in bookkeeping methods recommended by the state comptroller's office. The change should make it easier in coming years to more accurately compare budgets, she said.

The tresurer summed up the village's budgeting philosophy by stating, "We try to hold the line on expenses and are very conservative when projecting revenue. It's better to be safe than sorry."

Salaries for the trustees and mayor remain the same. Trustees receive $1,200 annually and the mayor is paid $3,200.

In other business, the mayor appointed the law firm of Lambert and Trosset as village attorney to replace Garo Gozigian. The appointment is for one year and has a retainer of $6,750.