Spring Valley Sets Hearing on Tentative Budget and Tax Cap

Yisroel R.

The Village of Spring Valley will hold a public hearing next Wednesday night, April 29, on the mayor’s tentative village budget for the 2026–2027 year. The plan includes a village tax rate increase from about $267 to about $301 for every $1,000 of assessed value, a jump of about 12.77%. For example, last year a home assessed at $25,000 paid about $6,675 in village tax. Under the new tentative rate, that same home would pay about $7,525, more than $800 more in one year. Many residents say this size increase is hard to absorb for working families and fixed‑income homeowners.

Village officials point out that some of the increase comes from mandated costs the village cannot avoid. The new PBA contract and other salary items add roughly $1 million to the budget, and health‑insurance and related benefits are up by about $800,000, driven by state rules and union agreements. At the same time, taxpayers note that not every line in the budget is mandatory. The tentative budget raises the mayor’s salary line from $115,000 to $185,000, an increase of $70,000. In addition, the plan includes a request for a village‑funded vehicle for the mayor, with a total cost in the budget documents of about $120,000 for purchase and related expenses. Critics say these items are choices, not requirements, and question why they are being added in the same year as a double‑digit tax hike. Some residents have expressed frustration that while they are being asked to pay more, the mayor himself only rents an apartment in Spring Valley as a secondary residence and will not feel the effects of the tax hike. They argue that this makes it easier for the mayor to push through increases that they feel are not sustainable for local families.

In addition to the budget, the Board will also hold a public hearing on a local law to override the state tax cap. If adopted, the law would allow the village to raise taxes above the usual limit this year and possibly in future budgets, which has raised further concern among homeowners.

The tentative budget lists total appropriations of about $39,970,380, with about $6,748,807 in estimated revenues, leaving about $33,221,573 to be raised by village taxes, based on a taxable assessed value of about $110,158,104. Residents can look up their own assessed value and past village tax bills on the Spring Valley online tax portal to see what the tentative rate would mean for them. The public hearings will give community members a chance to speak on the tax increase, the tax‑cap override, and the non‑mandated items in the mayor’s plan before the Board takes any final votes.