Brookhaven Budget Reduces Spending, Won't Increase Taxes

The Brookhaven town council has unanimously approved its 2012 budget, a $254.1 million budget that represents 1.3 percent decrease – or $2.7 million – in spending from 2011, according to a report in The Village Times Herald.

"These dire economic times require us to maintain a conservative fiscal discipline," town supervisor Mark Lesko said in a statement. "We made some difficult choices, but we were able to meet our goal of not burdening our residents with additional taxes."

The 2012 budget relies on $14.6 million drawn from its general fund surplus. It's the third year in a row taxpayers won't see an increase in their property tax rate, although residents will see a line on their tax bills to fund a $6 million bond related to a shortage in funding for snow removal in the 2011 budget.

Brookhaven will also see a $25 million savings after contract negotiations with white- and blue-collar unions that extended the workers' contracts to 2019, includes wage freezes, and guaranteed no layoffs through the end of 2012.

While a draft budget had drastically cut funding for a number of town youth agencies, the final budget restored partial funding.

Click here to read the full report from The Village Times Herald.