Trustee board members with the Village of Falconer passed a balanced budget at Tuesday’s board meeting. P J Photo by Christopher Blakeslee

FALCONER – The Village of Falconer passed a balanced budget Tuesday evening.

The Falconer Board of trustees unanimously passed the village’s 2024-2025 budget at the village’s monthly meeting held at the Firemen’s Exempt Hall.

This year’s budget included a minor tax increase, the tax rate is $8.576 per $1,000, last year tax rate was $8.47 per $1,000.

The line items for appropriations and revenues both read $1,650,543.00 signifying a planned balanced budget.

“I think we consolidated where we could, and made the appropriate cuts,” said Mayor James Jaroszynski. “This is a balanced budget and we stick to our priorities of saving for projects and replacement vehicles, versus taking out a line-of-credit or bonding the village.”

Trustee Timonthy Dunn agreed with the mayor.

“I’ve never been in favor of bonding,” he said. “Or even taking a line of credit out. When we save for projects the money, we save, generates interest and works for us. When you take a line of credit out, you pay the bank’s interest, and when you bond a city, village or municipality, your children’s children can end up paying for it.”

Additionally, an expenditure which caught the attention of Trustee Allan Gustafson Jr. revolved around a contract for sidewalk repairs.

“Shouldn’t we be taking open bids for this job,” he said, after Carl Caprino, superintendent with the Falconer Department of Public Works, briefed the trustees on a quote for the sidewalk repairs project. “This is a quote for work/services, I think we are supposed to have open bids for this.”

Village attorney, Greg Peterson, clarified the point.

“Yes, any project that will cost more than $35 thousand dollars, by our policy, should be part of an open-bid procurement process,” said Peterson. “I assume it will be our normal big players who will put the bids in, but yes, we should be taking open bids.”

In other news:

-The village is looking at relacing an aging sweeping machine it owns. Superintendent Caprino reported that the company the village is working with will give the village a trade-in payment for the older system in the amount of $95,000 against the purchase price of $267,749.10 leaving a balance of $179,661 the village would need to cover. However, there was a caveat to this transaction.

“We’re allowed to use our current sweeper until delivery of our new sweeper and there will be deduction in our trade in value, but we have until Apr. 15 to make the choice if we want this deal,” he said.

-The village’s Volunteer Fire Company is reporting they responded to more than 74 incidents or request for services from March 1 – March 31. With 17 calls related to fire incidents, 58 EMS calls and request for mutual assistance given to Jamstown-7; Kennedy- 4; Gerry-1, Fluvanna-1 and Ellington-1. Mutual assistance received: Alstar-1; Medic-74 12; Gerry-1 and Frewsburg-1.

The Falconer Public Library reported giving out 600 solar eclipse glasses and set the Thursday night Summer Band Concert series. July 11-Miranda Wilcox, July 18-Pearl City Jazz, July 25-New Horizons Band and Aug. 1-Razz and Friends.