Pictured are members of the Mayville Village Board. P-J photo by Gregory Bacon

MAYVILLE – Mayor Rick Syper is proposing an increase in village taxes, which, if approved, would stay below the state imposed tax cap.

He said the increase is mainly due to the work being done at Lakeside Park.

According to village Treasurer Jen Obert, Syper is proposing a $2,373,433 budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year.

The levy, which is the amount collected by taxes, is $854,893, which is around $24,000 higher than the current year’s levy.

Obert said the budget proposal currently has a tax rate of about $6.83, up from the current rate of about $6.65. “This represents an increase of 2.68%, which remains below the allowable tax cap,” she said.

Syper said the park work is the biggest challenge. “We’re short with this Lakeside Park grant,” he said.

It was announced in the beginning of 2023, that the village was awarded a $650,000 grant for improving the landing plaza near the Chautauqua Belle, installing a handicapped-accessible kayak launch, and installing a waterfront pedestrian and bicycle trail. The grant would cover 75% of the costs and the village was responsible for the remaining 25%.

They’ve run into some issues with where certain parts of the trail would not be covered by the grant project.

For the kayak launch, where they originally proposed placing it, there are some protected mussels and the water isn’t deep enough, so the village has had to get additional engineering done.

Syper said with these changes, the project has gone up an additional $150,000 to $250,000.

Lakeside Park isn’t the only project getting funding in Syper’s 2026-27 budget.

Another item he would like to do is install sidewalks on Evans Street, which would allow residents to walk from uptown to the new trail on Lakeview Avenue, which eventually connects to the Rails to Trails trail.

The village board is holding a number of budget workshops. A vote on the budget is expected in either March or April. The budget runs from June 1 to May 31.