NEW BERLIN –  The Village of New Berlin voted last week to approve a budget that would keep property taxes below the 2 percent tax cap.

According to Village of New Berlin Mayor Peter Lennon, contributing factors this year included increases in insurance, fuel and utilities.

“Insurance costs increased 5.5 percent for village.” Lennon explained. The EMS and fire department insurance costs are separate from those referenced by Lennon, primarily because the EMS has to be a self-sustaining system.

Fuel costs this year have already increased by 30-35 percent. “No one knows what that will be,” Lennon said, explaining that in addition to regular fuel costs, the increase impacts asphalt for paving and heating fuel costs as well, creating several unknowns within the budget.

Utility costs have also impacted the village. “Everyone’s NYSEG bills have been going up. That has had a significant impact on the village as well,” Lennon explained.

Other significant factors to the budget include a bump of about 4 percent in the Department of Public Works Budget. Lennon explained that many of the DPW crew are working on additional certifications in water treatment and repair. “Those things make them more desirable to other communities and we need to offer incentives to keep them in the village.”

With so many uncontrollable increases, Lennon explained that the village had to tighten the belt in many areas to keep the budget under the 2 percent tax cap. He explained that the village has restructured the front office and adjust contract hours to lower resource expenses. In addition, he said collaboration with the New Berlin Cultural Center has cut down on the expense for many village events, such as the annual Christmas Tree Lighting and Easter Egg Hunt.

“Sharing resources with the New Berlin Cultural Center has cut down on expenses for those village events. It’s a great partnership,” Lennon said.

Lennon explained that there have been small increases in property values, and sales tax received from the county. “There’s been some good news. It’s not a huge spike, but at least we’re not moving in the wrong direction.”

Lennon commended the work of the board of trustees. “They understood that this year especially, we couldn’t have our hands out for everything. They developed compromises and gave real scrutiny to every item.” The mayor said that he and some of the board members have donated back the stipend they receive for their services over the years or used it to for village beautification or the youth fund.

While many years the village is able to put some money into the reserve fund, Lennon said this year’s budget will not allow them to do so. Moving forward, Lennon said the village will look at every opportunity to partner with other municipalities and with organizations within the community.

“We don’t have a lot of cushion to work with. We plan to pool our resources as best as we can,” said the mayor.