Brancati unveils $28.3M village budget

By MARTIN WILBUR

A $28.3 million Mount Kisco budget was proposed for the upcoming fiscal year that would call for a 2.34% tax rate increase, heavily influenced by a steep rise in employee health insurance and retirement costs.

Village Manager Ed Brancati unveiled the first draft of the 2026-27 spending plan Monday evening, which narrowly complies with the tax cap despite an additional $1,242,000 in expenses. Under the proposal shared, the tax levy comes in about $13,000 below the maximum levy of more than $17.1 million after computing the growth factor of 0.38% and revenue from three payment-in-lieu-of-taxes programs.

A taxpayer whose home is at the average market value of $457,500 would pay $4,205.50, an additional $95.99 in the new fiscal year, which starts on June 1.

Soaring health insurance costs and larger retirement fund expenses eat up more than $1 million of the proposed spending hike, Brancati said.

“The biggest driver in our increase, the majority of our increase, about 90, 95% of the increase in the general fund, and the funds overall, is the increase health insurance cost the village is experiencing, not only for active employees but for our retirees, their dependents as well as the contribution rates to the retirement system as established with the comptroller’s office and the increases that result,” Brancati said.

Public safety is the single largest component of the budget at more than $10.4 million. That not only includes the expenses related to police coverage with Westchester County but also the fire department and building inspection costs, he said.

Property owners can expect increases in their water and sewer expenses due to rising costs. Brancati said water rates will increase from about one cent to almost 1.15 cents a gallon, increasing the average household’s water bill by $104.29 to $891.44 next year. The average sewer bill will jump from $227.88 to $236.81, with Brancati calling it “the cheapest flush in Westchester County.”

Mount Kisco is preparing for several major capital projects, including replacement of the Preston Way bridge, the last phase of the streetscape improvements along South Moger Avenue and the anticipated start of the Complete Streets improvements with a focus on the most dangerous locations based on accident data.

The village has set aside $8.6 million for the Preston Way bridge — a $5 million state grant and $3.6 million in money it has already borrowed — along with about $1.5 million expected from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for the force labor account. Project cost is expected to exceed that when bids are scheduled to be opened early this summer.

Meanwhile, the proposed budget includes $1,355,275 for its share of the matching funds from the county to complete the South Moger Avenue streetscape from Kirby Plaza to Green Street and $350,000 toward the first year of the Complete Streets improvements. The village must match 20% of the $7 million in federal funding it was approved for in December toward that work, Brancati said.

“We have five years to complete all of the work,” he said. “We’re going to try to do it more quickly if we can, but right now the project is over five years.”

Other capital expenses are in the water and sewer funds. Money included in the upcoming budget for water-related upgrades are $700,000 toward the village’s portion of a 65-35 state grant for Byram Lake dam repairs and $525,000 to fix the leaking water tank at the Mount Kisco Chase condominium complex. The village is still waiting for approval from New York City and the Army Corps of Engineers to extend the Branch Brook Sewer lines, a $4.5 million project.

Mayor J. Michael Cindrich said he is concerned about the reserves in the unappropriated fund balance, which stood at $878,000. He would like the village to come up with a plan to restore fund balance to optimal levels after as much as $1.4 million was used to balance the budget in some years before his second stint as mayor.

“I couldn’t see a way without having a 25% tax increase without using these funds,” Cindrich said.

Brancati said this is the last year of the debt service on the library, accounting for $660,000 of the roughly $3.5 million in that category. There’s also just over $300,000 in contingency in the budget, which the village does not intend to use, he said. In the longer term, Mount Kisco is about halfway through the 15-year bonds to repay the debt on the improvements at the three firehouses.

The Village Board will hold a budget work session March 30 and the public hearing April 6. The board must approve next year’s budget no later than May 1.